Background Choroidal neovascular (CNV) membrane is one of the most common causes of severe visual loss in middle and old-aged populations. It often leads to severe impairment of the daily life. Purpose The aim of this study was to assess the optical coherence tomography (OCT) biomarkers in evaluating the treatment outcomes of CNV membrane. Patients and methods This prospective interventional study included 100 patients suffering from active naïve CNV membranes with sufficiently clear media to get high-quality retinal images. All patients were subjected to color fundus photography, fundus fluorescein angiography, and OCT imaging at baseline. The patients received 6 monthly injections of ranibizumab followed by evaluation of best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and OCT imaging. Results Subretinal fluid was reported in 83 (83%) eyes at baseline and was significantly reduced to 20 (20%) eyes after 6 months ( P <0.001). In addition, pigment epithelial detachment was detected in 53 (53%) eyes at baseline and was significantly reduced to 24 (24%) eyes after 6 months ( P <0.001). The central foveal thickness was significantly reduced from 398.10±110.28 µm at baseline to 265.88±66.57 µm at 6 months ( P <0.001). The BCVA significantly improved from 0.11±0.022 (decimal) at baseline to 0.34±0.06 after 6 months ( P <0.001). On multivariate regression analysis, spongiform edema, subretinal fluid, outer retinal tabulation, hyperreflective foci, pigment epithelial detachment, and central foveal thickness were independent predictors of the 6-month BCVA ( P <0.05). There was a significant negative correlation between the baseline central subfield thickness and the baseline BCVA ( r =−0.87, P <0.001) and the 6-month BCVA ( r =−0.743, P <0.001) and between the 6-month central subfield thickness and the 6-month BCVA ( r =−0.812, P <0.001). Conclusion OCT biomarkers are crucial in management of CNV patients as they help to assess the visual prognosis, predict treatment response, and evaluate the disease progression, thus guiding the therapeutic decisions. They also assist in determining when to stop or to continue the antivascular endothelial growth factor treatment based on the presence of positive or negative biomarkers.
Fadel et al. (Tue,) studied this question.