Prognostic factors influencing visual outcome of photodynamic therapy for subfoveal choroidal neovascularization in pathologic myopia

• Published in: American journal of ophthalmology Vol. 138; no. 3; pp. 434 - 438
• Main Authors: Ergun, Erdem, Heinzl, Harald, Stur, Michael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01-09-2004; Elsevier; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biological and medical sciences; Choroidal Neovascularization - drug therapy; Choroidal Neovascularization - etiology; Choroidal Neovascularization - physiopathology; Female; Fluorescein Angiography; Humans; Influence; Lasers; Macular degeneration; Male; Medical imaging; Medical prognosis; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Myopia - complications; Myopia - physiopathology; Ophthalmology; Patients; Photochemotherapy; Photodynamic therapy; Photosensitizing Agents - therapeutic use; Porphyrins - therapeutic use; Retrospective Studies; Statistical methods; Treatment Outcome; Vision disorders; Visual Acuity - physiology; Eye disease; Photodynamic therapy; Prognosis; Treatment; Choroidal neovascularization; Vision disorder; Refractive error; Myopia; Ophthalmology
• ISSN: 0002-9394; 1879-1891
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ajo.2004.04.055

To examine the influence of age, lesion size, degree of myopia, and baseline visual acuity on the visual outcome of patients with pathologic myopia and choroidal neovascularization (CNV) who received photodynamic therapy (PDT) with verteporfin.
Retrospective, noncomparative consecutive case series.
Forty-three eyes of 41 patients were treated in a two-year time span; 36 eyes of 36 patients who had received PDT for CNV due to pathologic myopia were examined for the above-mentioned factors 24 months after first treatment.
All patients had been treated according to the Verteporfin in Photodynamic Therapy (VIP) study criteria. Patients were examined in two- to three-month intervals with Snellen visual acuity, biomicroscopy, and fluorescein angiography.
Baseline visual acuity and age were both prognostic factors for visual outcome (
P = .0097,
P = .0055). Lesion size (greatest linear dimension) at baseline, refractive error, or the number of treatments had no influence on the outcome.
Age and baseline visual acuity have an effect on visual outcome in patients receiving PDT due to CNV secondary to pathologic myopia. Younger patients and patients with higher baseline visual acuity had a better treatment outcome.