Optical coherence tomography angiography for identifying choroidal neovascular membranes: a masked study in clinical practice

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) allows non-invasive imaging of chorio-retinal vasculature, and is a potential alternative to fluorescein angiography (FA). Sensitivity and specificity of OCT-A for detecting choroidal neovascularisation (CNV) in treatment-naïve neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) patients is examined, using the Heidelberg Spectralis in a 'real world' setting.

SUBJECT/METHODS: Overall, 43 eyes from 26 patients were included in the study. Spectral domain OCT (SD-OCT), OCT-A and FA images were obtained at baseline. Each of the three retinal image modalities was systematically assessed by three masked clinicians. Decisions about the presence/absence of CNV were recorded using an automated segmentation for OCT-A, a manual method, and using both OCT-A and SD-OCT in conjunction. Additional information about the presence of sub-retinal hyper-reflective material (SHRM) and the 'double layer sign' (DLS) were recorded.

RESULTS: The average sensitivity and specificity of the OCT-A for the detection of CNV in treatment naïve AMD was 89% and 87% for the combined SD-OCT and OCT-A, 76% and 91% for the automated segmentation and 84% and 85% for the manual segmentation, respectively. Inter-clinician agreement was 0.59-65 kappa. In patients without CNV, SHRM was present in only 6% while DLS was present in 28%. Sensitivity and specificity was >78% for both SHRM and DLS.

CONCLUSIONS: OCT-A provides a reliable tool for detecting CNV in treatment naïve nAMD patients, with high sensitivity and specificity. Combined use of SD-OCT images and SHRM as an additional bio-marker, OCT-A could become an alternative to FA in routine clinical practice.