Morphologic differences, according to etiology, in pigment epithelial detachments by means of en face optical coherence tomography.

PURPOSE

To assess morphologic differences in pigment epithelial detachment (PED) with en face optical coherence tomography in central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

METHODS

We recruited 30 eyes of 22 patients with PED. Nine eyes had a clinical diagnosis of CSC and 21 had AMD. All patients were assessed with en face optical coherence tomography. Morphologic PED aspects were estimated on C-scans and classified according to shape, inner silhouette, content, wall aspects, wall thickness, and size.

RESULTS

Pigment epithelial detachment shape was predominantly circular (88.8%) in CSC and irregular or with multilobular features in AMD (76.2%). The PED inner silhouette had a smooth aspect (88.9%) in CSC and a slightly granular aspect or granular profile in AMD (100%). Clear PED content was the most characteristic feature of CSC (88.9%) but not of AMD. In CSC, PED morphologic wall aspect was uniform or slightly irregular (100%), while in AMD, it was slightly irregular (52.4%) or irregular (47.6%). Pigment epithelial detachment wall thickness and dimensions were larger in AMD than in CSC. Statistically significant differences were observed between CSC and AMD concerning PED inner silhouette, contents, wall aspects, and wall thickness measurements.

CONCLUSION

En face optical coherence tomography scanning is a valuable tool for showing important morphologic differences between CSC and AMD.