scholarly journals Forum ophthalmicum – how to take control over accumulation of diagnostic data from macular OCT with benefit for both doctor and patient?

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 160-165
Author(s):  
Dorota Maria Kaczmarek

Wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) is a disease which requires regular diagnostic tests such as macular optical coherent tomography which is extremely important both in diagnosis and disease monitoring. With constant aging of the population, we are dealing with an increasing incidence rate of AMD, which makes it even more important to have a tool allowing for quick and precise analysis of anatomical changes in macular region, particularly in the current complicated epidemiological situation when diagnostic time should be used most efficiently to plan the follow-up treatment. Forum® software allows for the precise analysis of many tests performed in a single patient and combining it with treatment effectiveness assessment which substantially accelerates the diagnostics.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Arrigo ◽  
Emanuela Aragona ◽  
Ottavia Battaglia ◽  
Andrea Saladino ◽  
Alessia Amato ◽  
...  

AbstractOuter retinal tubulations (ORT) are a relatively new finding characterizing outer retinal atrophy. The main aim of the present study was to describe ORT development in advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and to assess its relationship with disease’s severity. Patients with advanced AMD characterized either by macular neovascularization or geographic atrophy, showing signs of outer retinal disruption or retinal pigment epithelium atrophy on structural optical coherence tomography (OCT) at the inclusion examination were prospectively recruited. All the patients underwent complete ophthalmologic evaluation, structural OCT scans and fundus autofluorescence imaging. The planned follow-up was of 3-years. Main outcome measures were ORT prevalence, mechanism of ORT formation, mean time needed for complete ORT formation, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), definitely decreased autofluorescence (DDAF) area, questionably decreased autofluorescence (QDAF) area, retinal layer thickness, foveal sparing, number of intravitreal injections. We also assessed the possible role of external limiting membrane (ELM) and Müller cells in ORT pathogenesis. Seventy eyes (70 patients) were included; 43 showed dry AMD evolving to geographic atrophy, while 27 displayed the features of wet AMD. Baseline BCVA was 0.5 ± 0.5 LogMAR, decreasing to 0.9 ± 0.5 LogMAR at the 3-year follow-up (p < 0.01). We detected completely formed ORT in 26/70 eyes (37%), subdivided as follows: 20 eyes (77%) wet AMD and 6 eyes (23%) dry AMD (p < 0.01). ORT took 18 ± 8 months (range 3–35 months) to develop fully. We described the steps leading to ORT development, characterized by progressive involvement of, and damage to the photoreceptors, the ELM and the RPE. Eyes displaying ORT were associated with a smaller QDAF area, less retinal layers damage and lower rate of foveal sparing than eyes free of ORT (p < 0.01). We also described pigment accumulations simulating ORT, which were detected in 16/70 eyes (23%), associated with a greater loss of foveal sparing, increased DDAF area and smaller QDAF area at the 3-year follow-up (p < 0.01). In conclusion, this study provided a description of the steps leading to ORT development in AMD. ELM and Müller cells showed a role in ORT pathogenesis. Furthermore, we described a subtype of pigment hypertrophy mimicking ORT, evaluating its clinical utility.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 94-98
Author(s):  
Omar M. Ismail ◽  
Lauren Mason ◽  
John O. Mason

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to examine the efficacy of macular hole repair in eyes with coexisting dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed of charts of 25 patients (27 eyes) diagnosed with mild to moderate dry AMD who underwent macular hole repair via 25-gauge pars plana vitrectomy between 2014 and 2016. Data of interest included anatomic failure rates, complication rates, and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) preoperatively, and at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months postoperatively. When available, data at each patient’s most recent visit were also analyzed. Results: Macular hole repair resulted in a statistically significant ( P < .05) visual improvement postoperatively, with BCVA increasing from 20/141 preoperatively to 20/33 1 year postoperatively. Mean BCVA at most recent visit was 20/41. Mean duration of follow-up was 13 months (range, 1-39 months). One of 27 (3.7%) macular holes failed to close after vitrectomy. One of 27 eyes (3.7%) progressed from dry to wet AMD. Four of 27 additional eyes (18.5%) were noted to have worsening of their AMD on exam over the course of follow-up. Conclusions: Macular hole repair in patients with coexisting dry AMD leads to a significant improvement in visual performance and has a low risk of failure or complication.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (19) ◽  
pp. 9313
Author(s):  
Kawther Taibouni ◽  
Alexandra Miere ◽  
Abdourahmane Samake ◽  
Eric Souied ◽  
Eric Petit ◽  
...  

Choroidal Neovascularization (CNV) is the advanced stage of Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), which is the leading cause of irreversible visual loss for elder people in developed countries. Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCTA) is a recent non-invasive imaging technique widely used nowadays in diagnosis and follow-up of CNV. In this study, an automatic screening of CNV based on deep learning is performed using OCTA choriocapillaris images. CNV eyes (advanced wet AMD) are diagnosed among healthy eyes (no AMD) and eyes with drusen (intermediate AMD). An OCTA dataset of 1396 images is used to train and evaluate the model. A pre-trained convolutional neural network (CNN) is fine-tuned and validated on 80% of the dataset while the remaining 20% is used independently for predictions. The model can accurately detect CNV on the test set with an accuracy of 89.74%, precision of 0.96 and 0.99 area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic. A good overall classification accuracy of 88.46% is obtained on a balanced test set. Detailed analysis of misclassified images shows that they are also considered ambiguous images for expert clinicians. This novel CNN-based application is truly a breakthrough to assist clinicians in the challenging task of screening for neovascular complications.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pilar Calvo ◽  
Beatriz Abadia ◽  
Antonio Ferreras ◽  
Oscar Ruiz-Moreno ◽  
Jesús Leciñena ◽  
...  

Purpose. To analyse the visual outcome in wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) patients depending on the number of ranibizumab injections.Methods. 51 naïve wet AMD patients were retrospectively recorded. Visual acuity (VA), central retinal thickness (CRT) measured with spectral domain (SD) optical coherence tomography (OCT), and number of intravitreal injections were compared at 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, and 36 months of follow-up. Kaplan-Meier survival rates (SRs) based on VA outcomes were calculated depending on the number of ranibizumab injections performed.Results. VA improved compared with baseline at 6 and 12 months (P<0.005). No differences were found at 18, 24, 30, and 36 months (P>0.05). CRT measured with Cirrus OCT decreased (P<0.001) at all time points analysed. The mean number of injections received was6.98±3.69. At 36 months, Kaplan-Meier SR was 76.5% (the proportion of patients without a decrease in vision of more than 0.3 logMAR units). VA remained stable (≤0.01 logMAR units) or improved in 62.7%. Within this group, SR was 92.9% in those who received 7 or more injections versus 51.4% receiving <7 treatments (P=0.008; log-rank test).Conclusion. Better VA outcomes were found in stable wet AMD patients after 3 years of follow-up if they received ≥7 ranibizumab injections.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Corazza ◽  
Francesco Maria D’Alterio ◽  
Jamil Kabbani ◽  
Mostafa Mohamed Ragheb Alam ◽  
Stefano Mercuri ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose To describe real-life data from wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) patients treated with anti-vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs) and to compare our results with previous studies and clinical trials. Methods This retrospective monocentric cohort study analyzed 865 eyes of 780 wet-AMD patients treated with an anti-VEGF treat-and-extend regimen over a long-term follow-up period. Aflibercept and Ranibizumab were considered first-line agents whereas Bevacizumab was reserved for use on a compassionate basis in patients not meeting treatment criteria. All patients underwent a best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) assessment at each follow-up visit. Results One-year follow-up figures were available for 82.5% of patients, whilst follow-up data was recorded for 55.6%, 37.6%, 25.1%, and 15.0% of the cohort at years 2, 3, 4, and 5 respectively. Patients treated with Bevacizumab received fewer yearly injections than those treated with Ranibizumab. However, no significant difference in the number of injections per year was detected in other comparisons between groups. Whilst our data showed no significant difference in mean BCVA between the three groups, there was a gradual deterioration of visual function over time for the patient cohort as a whole. Conclusion No significant differences between the 3 anti-VEGF molecules were recorded in wet-AMD patients in real-life conditions. Despite the long-term therapy, we found a slight reduction in visual function especially after the third year of treatment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 209-215
Author(s):  
A.V. Kuroyedov ◽  
◽  
O.V. Gapon’ko ◽  
V.V. Gorodnichiy ◽  
I.V. Kondrakova ◽  
...  

Aim: to assess the effectiveness and tolerability of anti-VEGF agents, aflibercept (2.0 mg) and ranibizumab (0.5 mg), in the combined treat-ment for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in routine clinical practice.Patients and Methods: 55 patients (65 eyes) with the late stage of wet AMD were divided into two groups. Group 1 included 32 eyes with classic choroidal neovascularization (CNV) and group 2 included 33 eyes with occult CNV. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure, and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness were measured. These parameters were compared at different time points during the treatment.Results: overall AMD duration (January 2019) was 36 (19; 47) months being 30 (12; 44) months in group 1 and 36 (23; 48) months in group 2 (р>0.05). The first intravitreal administration of an anti-VEGF drug was performed 7.5 (3.5; 9.5) months after AMD diagnosis in group 1 and 7 (3; 11) months after AMD diagnosis in group 2. Significant differences in intragroup intervals were revealed between various follow-up periods. More differences were identified for the intervals between intravitreal administrations in group 2. Baseline and final BCVA during the entire follow-up which was 29.5 (19.5; 38) months in group 1 and 28 (25; 44) months in group 2 demonstrated neither intragroup nor intergroup differences (р>0.05). Conclusion: our management strategy for wet AMD is somewhat different from conventional guidelines. However, it has no significant impact on visual acuity during the follow-up.Keywords: age-related macular degeneration, anti-VEGF drugs, intravitreal administration, IOP level, aflibercept, ranibizumab.For citation: Kuroyedov A.V., Gapon’ko O.V., Gorodnichiy V.V. et al. Effectiveness and tolerability of the combined use of anti-VEGF agents in clinical practice. Russian Journal of Clinical Ophthalmology. 2020;20(4):209–215. DOI: 10.32364/2311-7729-2020-20-4-209-215.


2021 ◽  
pp. 112067212110593
Author(s):  
Anadi Khatri ◽  
Araniko Pandey ◽  
Kriti Joshi ◽  
Kinsuk Singh ◽  
Gunjan Prasai ◽  
...  

Purpose Anti vascular endothelial growth factor (anti VEGF) has been the mainstay of treatment in wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Subsequent decision to continue anti VEGF therapy depends on the treatment response quantified by functional (visual acuity) and morphological (optical coherence tomography) parameters then categorized from good to poor. Methods This study evaluates the agreement between OCT angiography (OCTA) and non-OCTA (logMAR VA plus OCT) to decide anti-VEGF treatment's continuity. After an anti VEGF treatment, on a follow up visit, a patient underwent non-OCTA evaluation (decision A) then OCTA evaluation (decision B) to judge the necessity of future anti VEGF application. Results Out of 129 eyes, on 72 eyes (49%), there were agreements on both decision arms, but on 55 eyes (42%) there was disagreement. Particularly, disagreement on 47/55 eyes was important, where OCTA advised “continue anti VEGF” and non-OCTA advised “Stop anti VEGF” therapy. Cohen's Kappa for probability of agreement to continue anti VEGF was fair (0.33) and to stop anti VEGF therapy was none (0.1). Conclusions Based on resulting disagreements between the two modalities on deciding the continuity of anti VEGF, we conclude that OCTA must be considered in the conventional decision making algorithm in patients with wet AMD under anti VEGF therapy.


2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 13-21
Author(s):  
Yuriy Sergeyevich Astakhov ◽  
Gassan Basharovich Shaar ◽  
Nikita Yur’yevich Dal’

Purpose. To study the effects of vitrectomy on the course of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Materials and methods. 99 patients (99 eyes) with wet AMD associated with vitreo-macular adhesion or posterior hyaloid traction were included in the study. During the first 6 months, all patients received anti-VEGF treatment according to a PRN regimen. Then, they were divided into two groups: in 45 patients vitrectomy was performed and 54 patients did not receive surgical treatment. The follow-up period duration was one year. Results. At the beginning of the study, visual acuity was 0.27 ± 0.17 in the control group, and 0.17 ± 0.15 in the treatment group. Most prominent differences in visual acuity between the two groups were observed during the first 6 months (visual acuity in the treatment group before surgery was 0.12 ± 0.1) (p < 0.01 and p < 0.001), at the same time during the following 6 follow-up months, this difference decreased (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01). 1 year from the study start, visual acuity in the control group was 0.24 ± 0.17, and 0.17 ± 0.13 in the treatment one. Conclusions. Vitrectomy surgery in patients with wet AMD in association with vitreo-macular adhesion or posterior hyaloid traction does not exacerbate the disease course, stabilizes visual functions and improves the quality of life.


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