SD-OCT morphological changes in wet age-related macular degeneration patients after bevacizumab treatment

AIM: To investigate the changes in spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) quantitative and qualitative parameters in a group of patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) that underwent bevacizumab intravitreal injections (IV). We assessed if one or more of these parameters can be used as prognostic factors of the post treatment visual acuity (VA). METHODS: Totally 66 eyes of 61 patients, with treatment naive AMD, that were treated with at least 3 monthly bevacizumab IV, were retrospectively studied. SD-OCT quantitative [central foveal thickness (CFT), external limiting membrane (ELM) and ellipsoid zone (EZ) lengths] and qualitative parameters were studied and compared before and after IV. We also tried to establish correlation between these parameters and before/after treatment VA. RESULTS: Mean VA (logMAR), CFT (μm), ELM length(μm) and EZ length (μm) changed from pre-IV values of 0.62±0.41, 419.3±110.0, 378.2±377.2 and 156.4±253.7 to post-IV values of 0.53±0.44, 325.8±117.9, 547.1±421.5 and 173.1±207.1. There was correlation between pre-IV VA and pre-IV CFT (rs=0.27), ELM length (rs=-0.30) and ELM disruption (rs=0.43). There was also correlation between post-IV VA and post-IV ELM length (rs=-0.40). Post-IV VA showed correlation with pre-IV VA (rs=0.66), ELM length (rs=-0.35) and ELM disruption (rs=0.46). CONCLUSION: In our study group pre-IV VA, ELM length and ELM disruption can be used as post-IV VA prognostic factors. Copyright 2017 by the IJO Press.