Incidence and clinical patterns of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy in Korean patients.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the incidence, demographic features, and clinical characteristics of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) in Korean patients.


METHODS
A retrospective review was undertaken of 392 eyes of 321 symptomatic patients suspected of having exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) after their first visit to a tertiary hospital between February 2002 and May 2006. All patients underwent a complete ophthalmic examination, including fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography (ICGA).


RESULTS
Of the 321 patients (392 eyes), 79 (98 eyes, 24.6%) were diagnosed with PCV. The mean PCV patient age was 64.6 +/- 7.6 years. PCV was more common in men (78.5%), and was usually unilateral (75.9%). In terms of PCV clinical manifestation, 52% of patients showed an exudative pattern, 34.7%, a hemorrhagic pattern, and 13.3%, an extensive hemorrhagic pattern. The mean visual acuity at presentation was 0.231 +/- 0.256. Classification was based on ICGA findings; 52% of patients showed relatively large aneurismal dilations, 25.5% showed atypical vessel deformations, and 22.5% showed dense clusters of numerous small hyperfluorescent dots.


CONCLUSIONS
The incidence of PCV in Korean exudative AMD patients was relatively high compared with that in other ethnic groups. As in other Asian patient populations, PCV occurred more commonly in men and was predominantly unilateral.
Byeon
Suk Ho
SH
Institute of Vision Research, Department of Ophthalmology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
Lee
Sung Chul
SC
Oh
Hyun-Sub
HS
Kim
Sung Soo
SS
Koh
Hyoung Jun
HJ
Kwon
Oh Woong
OW
D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002829:Choroid / Q000098:blood supply*; D015862:Choroid Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004396:Coloring Agents; D005122:Exudates and Transudates; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007208:Indocyanine Green; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016491:Peripheral Vascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014792:Visual Acuity
D004396:Coloring Agents; D007208:Indocyanine Green