Assessment of ischemia in acute central retinal vein occlusion from inner retinal reflectivity on spectral domain optical coherence tomography

David J Browning, Omar S Punjabi, Chong Lee Department of Ophthalmology, Charlotte Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Associates, P.A., Charlotte, NC, USA Purpose: To determine the relationship between different spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) signs of retinal ischemia in acute central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) and whether they predict anterior segment neovascularization (ASNV).Design: Retrospective, observational study.Subjects: Thirty-nine consecutive patients with acute CRVO and 12 months of follow-up.Methods: We graded baseline SD-OCTs for increased reflectivity of the inner retina, loss of definition of inner retinal layers, presence of a prominent middle-limiting membrane (p-MLM) sign, and presence of paracentral acute middle maculopathy (PAMM). Graders were masked with respect to all clinical information.Results: The intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) of grading–regrading by graders 1 and 2 were 0.8104, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.6686, 0.8956), and 0.7986, 95% CI (0.6475, 0.8892), respectively. The intragrader coefficients of repeatability (COR) for graders 1 and 2 were 0.94 and 0.92, respectively. The ICC of graders 1 compared with 2 was 0.8039, 95% CI (0.6544, 0.8916). The intergrader COR was 0.80. SD-OCT grades of baseline ischemia were not associated with baseline visual acuity (VA), central subfield mean thickness (CSMT), or relative afferent pupillary defect; 12-month VA, CSMT, change in VA, change in CSMT, number of antivascular endothelial growth factor injections or corticosteroid injections, or proportion of eyes developing ASNV. SD-OCT grades of ischemia did not correlate with the proportion of eyes having the p-MLM sign or PAMM. PAMM and p-MLM are milder signs of ischemia than increased reflectivity of the inner retinal layers. Eyes with PAMM can evolve, losing PAMM and gaining the p-MLM sign.Conclusion: Grading of ischemia from SD-OCT in acute CRVO was repeatable within graders and reproducible across graders for the graders in this study. SD-OCT signs of ischemia are not correlated with each other and do not reliably predict subsequent ASNV. Close monitoring of eyes with acute CRVO continues to be the safest method to avoid missing ASNV and neovascular glaucoma. Keywords: central retinal vein occlusion, spectral domain optical coherence tomography, ischemia, prominent middle-limiting membrane sign, paracentral acute middle maculopathy, rubeosis iris, anterior segment neovascularization, iris neovascularizatio

Characterization of macular lesions in punctate inner choroidopathy with spectral domain optical coherence tomography

PURPOSE: Punctate inner choroidopathy (PIC) is an ocular inflammatory disease. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) allows detailed visualization of retinal and choroidal structures. We aimed to describe the retinal changes on SD-OCT associated with PIC lesions localized in the macula. METHODS: Retrospective case series: PIC lesions not associated with choroidal neovascularization (CNV) and captured by macular SD-OCT scans were identified and characterized. RESULTS: Twenty-seven PIC lesions from seven patients (eight eyes) were identified and classified into four categories according to disease activity and temporal changes. Among clinically inactive patients, two main patterns were noted on OCT: (1) retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) elevation with sub-RPE hyper-reflective signals and (2) localized disruption of outer retinal layers with choroid and Bruch's membrane (BM) generally spared. Clinically active patients demonstrated lesions with intact BM with RPE elevation that fluctuated with disease activity and sub-RPE hyper-reflective signals. Photoreceptor-associated bands on SD-OCT (PRs) were not visible during active disease, but returned to normal visibility when lesions were clinically stable. Seven lesions in patients without clinically detected activity demonstrated alteration of RPE elevation. CONCLUSION: SD-OCT can provide detailed structural characteristics of PIC lesions. RPE elevation is noted in many lesions while BM and choroid are spared. Photoreceptor-associated bands on SD-OCT appear compressed during clinically active stages and are visible during stabilization. OCT may provide information on activity not detected clinically. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s12348-011-0054-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users