Short-term changes in choroidal thickness after aflibercept therapy for neovascular age-related macular degeneration.

PURPOSE: To investigate changes in choroidal thickness after aflibercept therapy for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

DESIGN: Retrospective, consecutive, interventional case series.

METHODS: This study included 102 eyes of 102 patients with treatment-naïve neovascular AMD. All 102 eyes underwent 3 consecutive monthly 2.0 mg intravitreal aflibercept injections at baseline, 1 month, and 2 months. Choroidal thickness during 3 months were evaluated using either swept-source optical coherence tomography (OCT) or enhanced-depth imaging OCT.

RESULTS: Of the 102 eyes, 46 eyes (45.1%) were diagnosed as typical neovascular AMD and 56 eyes (54.9%) as polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy. After intravitreal aflibercept injections, the mean subfoveal choroidal thickness decreased from 252.0 ± 99.7 μm at baseline to 217.9 ± 95.6 μm at 3 months (P < .0001; percentage change from baseline, 86.5%). Mean choroidal thickness measured at 3 mm from the foveal center in the superior, inferior, temporal, and nasal directions also decreased significantly from 258.7 ± 85.9 μm to 236.4 ± 84.6 μm, 229.9 ± 93.0 μm to 208.6 ± 86.5 μm, 237.4 ± 86.5 μm to 214.6 ± 79.5 μm, and 183.7 ± 97.0 μm to 162.3 ± 90.6 μm, respectively (P < .0001 for all directions). Both subtypes of neovascular AMD demonstrated a similar trend toward decreasing choroidal thickness during the follow-up period.

CONCLUSIONS: Choroidal thickness significantly decreased not only at the foveal center but also in the entire macula after 3 monthly intravitreal aflibercept injections for neovascular AMD.