Validation of a Compensation Strategy Used to Detect Choriocapillaris Flow Deficits Under Drusen With Swept Source OCT Angiography

Abstract

Purpose: A compensation strategy that was developed to measure the choriocapillaris (CC) flow deficits (FDs) under drusen was tested in eyes with large drusen from age-related macular degeneration (AMD) before and after the drusen spontaneously resolved without evidence of disease progression.

Design: Prospective, observational consecutive case series.

Methods: Patients with AMD were enrolled in a prospective swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) imaging study. Consecutive eyes with large drusen were followed, and eyes that underwent spontaneous collapse of drusen without evidence of disease progression were identified retrospectively. The drusen-resolved regions were manually outlined. CC FDs were measured using a previously published compensation strategy that adjusted for the decreased signal intensity underlying drusen. Both the percentage of FDs (FD%) and the mean FD sizes (MFDSs) were measured before and after drusen resolution.

Results: Resolution of drusen was identified in 8 eyes from 8 patients. The average interval between the 2 visits was 7.8 months. The average drusen volumes measured between visits were 0.23 and 0.04 mm³, respectively. After the drusen resolved, the average follow-up time without evidence of disease progression was 10.1 months. When the 2 visits were compared, there were no statistically significant differences in any of the CC parameters within the drusen resolved regions once the compensation strategy was applied (all P values >.22).

Conclusions: In this naturally occurring experiment in which drusen collapsed without evidence of disease progression, the CC parameters were similar once our compensation strategy was applied both before and after the drusen resolved.