Correlation of Optical Coherence Tomography With Angiography in Retinal Pigment Epithelial Detachment Associated With Age-Related Macular Degeneration

In Brief Purpose: To correlate optical coherence tomography (OCT) with angiographic signs of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in retinal pigment epithelial detachment (PED) associated with age-related macular degeneration (ARMD). Methods: Prospectively, the authors performed OCT in 35 eyes of 35 patients (30 men and 5 women with a mean age of 71.6 years [range, 56–76 years]) with ARMD. All 35 eyes had CNV in the area of PED or adjacent to it, which was shown by fluorescein or indocyanine green angiography. Cross-sectional images were obtained by the OCT scanning line through the CNV and PED. Results: In 10 (56%) of 18 eyes in which the CNV was at the margin of the PED, a small PED was adjacent to the central, dome-shaped PED. There was a notch between the central and small mounds of PED. In 13 (76%) of 17 eyes in which the CNV was within the PED, a notch was seen in the dome-shaped PED, resulting in a contour with 2 mounds. One of the 2 mounds contained a highly reflective mass immediately beneath the detached retinal pigment epithelium in 8 (62%) of the 13 eyes. Conclusion: A tomographic notch in the PED may be diagnostically important as an indication of CNV beneath the detached retinal pigment epithelium in eyes with ARMD. Optical coherence tomography is a new diagnostic imaging technique that provides cross-sectional images of the retina and choroid. We studied the tomographic features of choroidal neovascularization with serous pigment epithelial detachment in age-related macular degeneration using optical coherence tomography.