Quantitative optical coherence tomography angiography features of inactive macular neovascularization in age-related macular degeneration

Purpose: To compare quantitative optical coherence tomography angiography parameters between treatment-naive quiescent macular neovascularizations (MNVs) and previously treated nonexudative Type 1 MNVs, in patients with age-related macular degeneration. Methods: The eyes included in the study were analyzed by fluorescein angiography, indocyanine green angiography, spectral-domain optical coherence tomography, and optical coherence tomography angiography. According to their medical history and multimodal imaging evaluation, Type 1 MNVs were divided into 2 groups: 1) treatment-naive quiescent MNVs; 2) previously treated nonexudative Type 1 MNVs. Quantitative optical coherence tomography angiography parameters, including perfusion density (PD), fractal dimension (FD), and lacunarity (LAC) were calculated. Receiver operating characteristic curves, showing the ability of PD, FD, and LAC to discriminate between the two MNV groups, were built. Results: Twenty-two eyes with treatment-naive quiescent MNVs and 20 eyes with MNVs previously treated nonexudative Type 1 MNVs were analyzed. Mean FD and LAC were statistically different between the two study groups (P < 0.05). Lacunarity showed the best discrimination ability, followed by FD and PD (area under curve = 0.83, 0.78, 0.62, respectively). Conclusion: Results suggest that FD and LAC may be useful optical coherence tomography angiography biomarkers to objectively discriminate inactive MNVs with different prognosis, such as treatment-naive quiescent MNVs and previously treated nonexudative Type 1 MNVs, in age-related macular degeneration patients.