Purpose: To evaluate choroidal findings on multimodal imaging in eyes within pachychoroid spectrum diseases and to compare quantitative and qualitative choroidal features between non-neovascular (NNV-PDS) and neovascular (NV-PDS) pachychoroid diseases.
Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional study comparing between NV-PDS and NNV-PDS. All patients underwent multimodal imaging including infracyanine green angiography (IFCGA) and swept source optical coherence tomography (OCT) and angiography (OCT-A). The following parameters were analyzed: subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT), choroidal vascular index (CVI), presence of pachyvessels and choroidal vascular interconnections (CVIC), presence of choroidal neovascularization and choriocapillaris density.
Results: Of the 87 eyes included in the study, 63 eyes (73%) had NNV-PDS and 24 eyes (27%) had NV-PDS. Mean SFCT and CVI were significantly higher in NNV-PDS group (p = 0.01; p = 0.022). Pachyvessels were more diffusely distributed in NNV-PD group and more focally distributed in NV-PDS group (p = 0.029). CVIC were more frequently noted in NV-PDS group (p = 0.024). A higher CVI was associated to a thicker choroid (p < 0.001), with significant negative correlations between the presence of CVIC and both SFCT (p = 0.015) and CVI (p = 0.002). We also observed a lower choriocapillaris vascular density and higher number of choriocapillaris flow voids in eyes with NNV-PDS (p = 0.24; p = 0.61).
Conclusion: NNV-PDS eyes had a significantly thicker SFCT, higher CVI and a lower rate of detected CVIC than eyes with NV-PDS. These highlighted choroidal vascular changes might lead to a better understanding of pachychoroid disease pathophysiology. More frequently observed in NV-PDS group, CVIC are believed to assess the development of vortex vein anastomoses as a remodelling process for vascular decongestion.
Keywords: choroidal neovascularization; choroidal vascular index; choroidal vascular interconnections; pachychoroid spectrum diseases; pachyvessels; subfoveal choroidal thickness.