OBJECTIVETo establish the diagnostic criteria for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) based on spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD OCT) by evaluating the sensitivity and specificity of SD OCT in differentiating PCV from wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD).

METHODSThe clinical data were reviewed for 62 patients (63 eyes) with the initial diagnosis of PCV or wAMD between August, 2012 and June, 2016. Twenty-four patients (25 eyes) were diagnosed to have PCV and 38 (38 eyes) had wAMD based on findings by fundus photography, fluorescein angiography (FFA) and indocyanine green angiography (ICGA). Among the 6 features of SD OCT, namely a sharp RPED peak, double-layer sign, multiple RPED, an RPED notch, a hyporeflective lumen representing polyps, and hyperreflective intraretinal hard exudates, findings of the first two features and at least one of the other features sufficed the diagnosis of PCV; in the absence of the first two features, the diagnosis of PCV was also made when at least 3 of the other features were present simultaneously. The sensitivity and specificity of SD OCT-based diagnosis were estimated by comparison with the gold standard ICGA-based diagnosis.

RESULTSIn the 25 eyes with an established diagnosis of PCV, 23 eyes (92.0%) met the diagnostic criteria based on SD OCT findings; in the 38 eyes with the diagnosis of wAMD, only 4 eyes (10.5%) met the criteria. The sensitivity and specificity of SD OCT-based diagnosis of PCV was 92.0% and 89.5%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONs We established the diagnostic criteria for PCV based on SD OCT findings with a high sensitivity and specificity. SD OCT shows a strong capacity for differentiating PCV from wAMD.