Macular choroidal thickness and volume in eyes with angioid streaks measured by swept source optical coherence tomography.

PURPOSE: To study the mean choroidal thickness and volume of the macula in eyes with angioid streaks using swept source optical coherence tomography (OCT) in the 1050-nm wavelength range.
DESIGN: Prospective case series.
METHODS: The macular area of 39 eyes of 23 patients with angioid streaks and of 20 normal eyes of 20 matched controls (Group 1) was studied with a swept source OCT prototype system. Eyes with angioid streaks were classified into 1 of 4 groups: those without choroidal neovascularization (CNV) (Group 2); those with CNV that had no history of treatment (Group 3); those with CNV that had previously received only anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatments (Group 4); and those with CNV that had previously received photodynamic therapy (Group 5). Using a raster scan protocol with 512 × 128 A-scans, we produced a macular choroidal thickness map (6 × 6 mm(2)).
RESULTS: There were no significant differences in age, axial length, or refractive error among the 5 groups. Mean choroidal thickness of the macula in Group 2 (218.9 ± 46.8 μm) was as great as that in Group 1 (218.8 ± 69.2 μm). However, the macular choroidal thickness in Group 3 (119.7 ± 49.2 μm), Group 4 (140.1 ± 64.9 μm), and Group 5 (144.0 ± 52.6 μm) was significantly less than that of Group 1 (P < .05). There were no statistical differences between Groups 3 through 5. In each group, the choroid of the nasal quadrant was significantly thinner compared to that in other quadrants (P < .05).
CONCLUSIONS: The choroid in eyes with angioid streaks without CNV was as thick as that in normal controls, but was significantly thinner in eyes with angioid streaks that had developed CNV.