Pachychoroid disease spectrum: review article

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this article is to do a comprehensive literature review about the current understandings of the pachychoroid disease spectrum, describing its multimodal imaging analysis, pathophysiology, differential diagnosis, and current types of management.

Methods: This comprehensive literature review was performed based on a search on the PubMed database, of relevant pachychoroid published papers according to our current knowledge.

Discussion: The pachychoroid disease spectrum, according to some authors, includes the following: pachychoroid pigment epitheliopathy (PPE), central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC), pachychoroid neovasculopathy (PNV), polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV)/aneurysmal type 1 neovascularization (AT1), and more recently focal choroidal excavation (FCE) and peripapillary pachychoroid syndrome (PPS). Each one of these entities will be described and discussed in this article.

Conclusion: Significant advances in multimodal imaging have enabled a better understanding of the typical choroidal changes in pachychoroid disease spectrum. The clinical knowledge and managing options about this disease significantly increased in the last years. However, it is still unclear why some eyes with typical pachychoroid disease phenotype show no evidence of RPE damage and subretinal fluid (uncomplicated pachychoroid) while others present progressive tissue damage, neovascularization, and atrophy.

Keywords: Anti-VEGF therapy; Central serous chorioretinopathy; Multimodal retinal imaging; Pachychoroid; Photodynamic therapy; Polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy.