| Presentation preference | Oral presentation |
| Title | The role of OCTA in the diagnosis and follow-up of inflammatory choroidal neovascularization in serpiginous-like choroiditis |
| Purpose | Ocular tuberculosis may present as Serpiginous-Like Choroiditis (SLC). The development of inflammatory choroidal neovascularization (CNV) confers a worse long-term visual prognosis. Fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography remain gold-standard for CNV diagnosis. However, more recently, optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) offered a valuable tool in the diagnosis and follow-up of neovascular complications in SPC. |
| Methods | Retrospective, observational study of SLC patients monitored in the ocular immunology department of Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Ocidental (Portugal) from January 2012 to September 2022. All patients with a SLC diagnosis underwent an interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) and/or Mantoux test (MT). |
| Results | Twenty-two eyes of 11 patients were included (mean age 59.0±13.6 years, mean follow-up 5.9±2.8 years). 9 (81.8%) patients had a positive IGRA and 3 (27.1%) a positive MT. CNV was diagnosed in 10 (45.5%) eyes of 7 (63.6%) patients. Mean time from SLC diagnosis to CNV detection was 3.4±3.5 years. After 2018, all patients were diagnosed with CNV using OCTA. 7 (70.0%) eyes were treated with intravitreal anti-VEGF agents (mean 4±11 injections) and showed good anatomical results in OCTA. In this report, eyes with CNV showed a lower final visual acuity versus eyes without neovascular complications (p=0.04). |
| Conclusion | Introduction of OCTA in our clinical practice revealed to be an essential tool in the evaluation of SLC patients: previous findings attributed to the inflammatory disease were successfully diagnosed as CNV. Hence, this study highlights the importance of multimodal imaging in prompt detection and follow-up after treatment of CNV in SLC. |
| Conflict of interest | No |
Authors 1
| Last name | GUEDES |
| Initials of first name(s) | M |
| Department | Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Ocidental |
| City | Lisbon |
| Country | Portugal |
Authors 2
| Last name | BAPTISTA |
| Initials of first name(s) | ML |
| Department | Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Ocidental |
| City | Lisbon |
| Country | Portugal |
Authors 3
| Last name | ROMANA |
| Initials of first name(s) | J |
| City | Lisbon |
| Country | Portugal |
Authors 4
| Last name | MADEIRA |
| Initials of first name(s) | F |
| City | Lisbon |
| Country | Portugal |
Authors 5
| Last name | CORDEIRO |
| Initials of first name(s) | M |
| City | Lisbon |
| Country | Portugal |
