Changes in fundus autofluorescence in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy during 3 years of follow-up

To investigate changes in fundus autofluorescence (FAF) during 3 years of follow-up in patients with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).

Retrospective study.

We retrospectively reviewed the charts of 48 eyes of 47 patients (35 men, 12 women; mean age, 69.9 ± 7.1 years) with treatment-naïve PCV for whom FAF and indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) images were available at baseline and at 3 years ± 3 months follow-up examination. The main outcome measures were the FAF changes during 3 years of follow-up, and the correlation between them and polypoidal lesions and branching vascular networks on ICGA.

The FAF of the polypoidal lesions showed three patterns at baseline and changes during 3 years of follow-up: confluent hypoautofluorescence surrounded by a hyperautofluorescent ring (86.1 % → 51.4 %), confluent hypoautofluorescence without a ring (8.3 % → 43.0 %), and no marked changes (5.6 % → 5.6 %). The FAF in 96.2 % of resolved polypoidal lesions persisted on images with abnormal FAF during the 3 years of follow-up. The granular hypoautofluorescence at the branching vascular networks at baseline became partially confluent hypoautofluorescence in 41 eyes (85.4 %). The mean area with confluent hypoautofluorescence that corresponded to the branching vascular network lesions increased significantly (P < 0.001) from 1.75 mm² to 5.10 mm² after 3 years of follow-up.

The FAF changes in PCV during the 3 years of follow-up can indicate that FAF imaging is a useful and clinically beneficial tool for noninvasively evaluating the PCV lesions and disorders of the upper retinal pigment epithelium.