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Meta-analysis: OCT has poor specificity in detecting reactivation of wet AMD
OCT showed poor specificity in monitoring reactivation of neovascular age-related macular degeneration, according to a study.
“It is not recommended that OCT be used alone to detect reactivation of nAMD in patients being monitored. According to current evidence, OCT should not replace the reference standard of [fundus fluorescein angiography] for monitoring patients with nAMD,” the study authors said.
The authors conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of eight monitoring studies involving 463 patients who underwent treatment for neovascular AMD; four studies were prospective, three studies were retrospective, and one study lacked that information.
Seven studies reported on the use of OCT (five on time-domain OCT, one on spectral-domain OCT and one on both) and one study reported on indocyanine green angiography (ICGA). No studies included a direct comparison of tests in the same patient population.
All OCT studies showed a sensitivity of 85% and specificity of 48% in detecting active neovascular AMD.
In studies reporting on TD-OCT, sensitivity was 70% and specificity was 65%.
There was insufficient data to calculate pooled sensitivity and specificity estimates for SD-OCT.
The ICGA study showed a sensitivity of 75.9% and specificity of 88% in detecting active disease.
Among the seven OCT studies, participants received anti-VEGF therapy in two studies and underwent photodynamic therapy in five. Participants in the ICGA study underwent laser photocoagulation. – by Matt Hasson
Disclosure: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.