Angiographic and optical coherence tomography characteristics of recent myopic choroidal neovascularization.

Purpose: To analyze the contribution of fluorescein angiography (FA) and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD OCT) to the diagnosis of recent choroidal neovascularization (CNV) associated with high myopia.

Design: Retrospective, observational case series.

Methods: Ninety eyes of 73 highly myopic patients (refractive error ≥-6 diopters) with CNV in 1 or both eyes were included. Epidemiologic features, refractive error, fundus examination, fluorescein angiography, and SD OCT findings at onset of CNV were analyzed.

Results: Mean age at onset of CNV was 54.4 ± 14 years. CNV was bilateral in 17 of 73 cases. Mean refractive error was -13.9 ± 5.2 diopters. Myopic CNV was associated more frequently with patchy or geographic atrophy (P = .019). CNV was associated with exudative features on fluorescein angiography in 82% of cases (64/78), and on SD OCT in 48.6% of cases (36/74). There was no agreement about signs of active CNV between these 2 imaging methods (κ = 25.7 ± 10%; P = .0044). CNV area was significantly smaller in younger patients (<55 years) than in older patients (0.57 mm(2) vs 1.21 mm(2), respectively; P = .023).

Conclusions: Exudative features of myopic CNV are more obvious on FA than on SD OCT, suggesting that fluorescein angiography should be performed when new-onset myopic CNV is suspected. Myopic CNV occurring in older patients (≥55 years) is larger than those seen in younger patients and resembles CNV associated with age-related macular degeneration. This suggests an overlap between myopic CNV in older patients and age-related macular degeneration.