PURPOSE: To evaluate the role of optical coherence tomography (OCT) in determining choroidal neovascularization (CNV) activity before and after photodynamic therapy (PDT)-in patients with age-related macular degeneration (ARMD). DESIGN: Prospective observational case series. METHODS: setting: Institutional study. patient population: Fiftythree patients (62 eyes) with ARMD. observation procedure: Prospective observational case study. main outcome measures: Presence or absence of leakage on fluorescein angiography, presence of intraretinal or sub-retinal fluid on OCT, and macular and choroidal neovascular complex thickness on OCT. RESULTS: The macular thickness decreased significantly after PDT (P=.001). However, no significant changes in CNVthickness were measured after PDT (P=.567). Once the diagnosis of ARMD was established before treatment, OCT had a sensitivity of 96.77% for detecting CNV activity. After treatment, OCT had a good sensitivity (95.65% ) and a moderate specificity (59.01% ) in determining CNV activity, which resulted in a diagnostic efficiency (proportion of correct results) of 82.95% . CONCLUSIONS:OCT appears to be useful for indicating CNV activity. Therefore, it may serve as a complementary technique for deciding the need for PDT and re-treatment in patients with ARMD.
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