Subfoveal choroidal thickness in retinal angiomatous proliferation.

PURPOSE

To investigate the subfoveal choroidal thickness in patients with retinal angiomatous proliferation (RAP).

METHODS

In consecutive patients with RAP, subfoveal choroidal thickness was retrospectively measured by the use of enhanced depth imaging spectral domain optical coherence tomography in comparison with age-matched control subjects.

RESULTS

Nineteen eyes of 19 patients with RAP and 32 eyes of 32 control subjects were included in this study. No significant differences were found between the eyes with RAP and the control eyes regarding age, gender, spherical equivalent, and axial length. Mean subfoveal choroidal thickness in 19 eyes with RAP was significantly less than that in the control eyes (129.5 ± 35.8 μm vs. 201.3 ± 55.0 μm, P < 0.0001). The difference in mean subfoveal choroidal thickness between eyes with Stage 2 RAP (132.8 ± 38.2 μm) and eyes with Stage 3 RAP (126.4 ± 36.6 μm) was not significant, though each measurement was significantly less than that in the control eyes (P < 0.001 and P = 0.002, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Eyes with RAP had a significantly thinner subfoveal choroid compared with normal eyes. Such morphologic features may be related to the pathologic mechanism of RAP.