Factors predictive of visual acuity outcomes 1 year after photodynamic therapy in Japanese patients with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to determine the factors predictive of visual acuity (VA) outcomes 1 year after photodynamic therapy (PDT) for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy.


METHODS
We prospectively studied 220 eyes of 210 Japanese patients with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy treated with primary application of PDT. A stepwise logistic regression model was used to estimate the independent factors predictive of better VA and improvement of VA 1 year after the primary PDT.


RESULTS
Visual acuities at the various follow-up evaluations improved significantly compared with baseline (P = 0.001 for all comparisons). The VA improved and decreased more than 0.3 logarithm of minimum angle of resolution unit 1 year after the primary PDT in 55 (25%) and 21 (10%) eyes, respectively. Stepwise logistic regression analysis showed that younger age, smaller greatest linear dimension, better baseline VA, and less baseline hemorrhage were significant and independent factors predictive of better VA 1 year after PDT, and younger age, smaller greatest linear dimension, better baseline VA, less hemorrhaging, and the presence of a serous macular detachment at baseline were significant and independent factors predictive of VA improvement.


CONCLUSIONS
Photodynamic therapy stabilized eyes anatomically and functionally. Clinical characteristics at baseline were predictors of favorable VA outcomes after PDT. These findings may help establish the strategy of treatment for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy.
Ohtsuka Eye Hospital, Sapporo, Japan. taiichi-hikichi@hokkaido.med.or.jp
Taiichi
T
Hikichi
Hideo
H
Ohtsuka
Makoto
M
Higuchi
Takuro
T
Matsushita
Hiroko
H
Ariga
Shoko
S
Kosaka
Reiko
R
Matsushita
Kimitaka
K
Takami
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People / Q000208:ethnology; D002829:Choroid / Q000098:blood supply*; D015862:Choroid Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016491:Peripheral Vascular Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000503:physiopathology; D010778:Photochemotherapy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*