Correlation Between Hyperreflective Foci and Clinical Outcomes in Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration After Switching to Aflibercept Publisher Pubmed



Aghdam KA^{1, 2} ; Pielen A¹ ; Framme C¹ ; Junker B¹ Show Affiliations
Source: Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science Published:2015

Abstract

PURPOSE. To assess the correlation between hyperreflective foci (HF) and visual and anatomical outcomes in treatment-resistant neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). METHODS. This was a prospective interventional case series. Thirty-three eyes of 30 consecutive patients with treatment-resistant neovascular AMD were enrolled. Intravitreal aflibercept injections were performed at week 0 (baseline), week 4, and week 8. Spectraldomain OCT images were obtained before each injection and 4 weeks after the third injection. The main focus was on the measurement of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) size in the cross-sectional area in the B-scan through the fovea, and HF number along line segments of 1- and 3-mm length passing through the fovea. RESULTS. Mean number of HF in the radius of 500 µm decreased from 8.36 6 7.58 to 4.15 6 3.39 (P ¼ 0.02). Mean number of HF in the radius of 1500 lm was reduced from 21.30 6 12.47 to 10.45 6 6.34 (P < 0.001). Mean CNV area decreased from 0.35 6 0.22 to 0.22 6 0.16 mm2 (P < 0.001). There was a significant positive correlation between HF reduction in the radius of 500 µm and decrease in central subfield thickness (CST) (r ¼ 0.43, P ¼ 0.01), but no statistically significant correlation was found between HF decline in the radius of 1500 lm and other parameters. CONCLUSIONS. Switching from ranibizumab to aflibercept caused significant decrease in the number of HF 1 month after aflibercept upload, and HF decrease in the radius of 500 µm was correlated positively with the reduction in CST. © 2015 The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc.