title: Changes in fundus autofluorescence in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy during 3 years of follow-up.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate changes in fundus autofluorescence (FAF) during 3 years of follow-up in patients with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective study.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively reviewed the charts of 48 eyes of 47 patients (35 men, 12 women; mean age, 69.9 ± 7.1 years) with treatment-naïve PCV for whom FAF and indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) images were available at baseline and at 3 years ± 3 months follow-up examination. The main outcome measures were the FAF changes during 3 years of follow-up, and the correlation between them and polypoidal lesions and branching vascular networks on ICGA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The FAF of the polypoidal lesions showed three patterns at baseline and changes during 3 years of follow-up: confluent hypoautofluorescence surrounded by a hyperautofluorescent ring (86.1% → 51.4%), confluent hypoautofluorescence without a ring (8.3% → 43.0%), and no marked changes (5.6% → 5.6%). The FAF in 96.2% of resolved polypoidal lesions persisted on images with abnormal FAF during the 3 years of follow-up. The granular hypoautofluorescence at the branching vascular networks at baseline became partially confluent hypoautofluorescence in 41 eyes (85.4%). The mean area with confluent hypoautofluorescence that corresponded to the branching vascular network lesions increased significantly (P < 0.001) from 1.75 mm(2) to 5.10 mm(2) after 3 years of follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The FAF changes in PCV during the 3 years of follow-up can indicate that FAF imaging is a useful and clinically beneficial tool for noninvasively evaluating the PCV lesions and disorders of the upper retinal pigment epithelium.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Osaka University Medical School, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Mihoko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Fumi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gomi
authors.forename: Miki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sawa
authors.forename: Chikako
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ueno
authors.forename: Kohji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nishida
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002829:Choroid / Q000098:blood supply; D020256:Choroidal Neovascularization / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004396:Coloring Agents; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007208:Indocyanine Green; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011127:Polyps / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D004396:Coloring Agents; D007208:Indocyanine Green