Idiopathic polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy in Caucasians: The POLYON real-life study in 50 naive patients

Abstract

Objectives: Polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy is a common disease in Asia, but it has been less described in the Caucasian population. The aim of this real-life observational study was to describe the diagnostic and therapeutic practices as well as the prognosis in this population. Method: Fifty Caucasian patients with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy were included in this study. All patients underwent angiography to confirm the diagnosis. Patients were divided into two treatment groups: patients of group 1 only received anti–vascular endothelial growth factor injections and those of group 2 required photodynamic therapy rescue in addition to intravitreal injections in case of suboptimal (anatomically or functionally) response. Clinical (visual acuity, fundus examination), paraclinical (retinal pigment epithelium detachment height and central retinal thickness on optical coherence tomography), and therapeutic (number of intravitreal injections) criteria were analyzed after 24 months. Results: Patient mean age was 73.9 ± 9.1 years, and half of the patients had age-related macular degeneration. In the whole cohort, the initial visual acuity was equivalent to the final visual acuity (59.9 ± 24.0 letters vs 62.5 ± 21.1 letters, p = 0.259). In group 1, the final visual acuity was significantly increased (from 56.9 ± 24.7 letters to 63.4 ± 21.6 letters, p = 0.016), while in group 2, it remained stable (from 61.7 ± 23.4 letters to 61.0 ± 21.4 letters, p = 0.249). The number of intravitreal injections was similar between both groups. Conclusion: In a Caucasian population, polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy seems to have a later onset. A non-standardized management allows stabilizing the functional prognosis. Patients requiring photodynamic therapy rescue have a poorer prognosis.

Optical coherence tomography angiography analysis of aneurismal type 1 neovascularization in a cohort of white patients

“…These results are similar to that reported in the current literature. 6,7,9,24 Regarding B-scan OCTA of polyps, we were able to differentiate two types of flow signals, the "patchy hyperflow" pattern and the "circular hypoflow" pattern, being the first one the most common (80.49%). We could expect that "circular hypoflow" polyps had been the most frequent pattern visualized by B-scans, in line with the en face images, which mainly detected "ring" polyps.…”

“…6–8 Furthermore, the vast majority of Caucasian patients with AT1 are female and are diagnosed around the 70 years. 2,8,9…”

“…[6][7][8] Furthermore, the vast majority of Caucasian patients with AT1 are female and are diagnosed around the 70 years. 2,8,9 Indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) is the gold standard for the diagnosis of AT1, but is an invasive and time-consuming procedure and is not available in all clinical settings. Therefore, noninvasive imaging techniques have been used as a complementary diagnostic method.…”

Two-year results of a treat and extend regimen with aflibercept in Caucasian patients with aneurysmal type 1 neovascularization

“…In POLYON real-life study 24 eyes were treated with anti-VEGF monotherapy (both ranibizumab and aflibercept), with a gain of 13.9 letters after 2 years of follow-up. 9…”

“…7,8 Furthermore, the vast majority of Caucasian patients with AT1 are female and are diagnosed around the 70 years. 3,9…”