Comparison of choroidal thickness measurements using swept source and spectral domain optical coherence tomography in pachychoroid diseases

PURPOSE: To determine the comparability of choroidal thickness (ChT) measurements using swept source (SS) and spectral domain (SD) optical coherence tomography (OCT) devices in patients with pachychoroid diseases. METHODS: Patients with pachychoroid diseases were recruited. OCT scans were performed sequentially with a Cirrus HD OCT 5000 and Plex Elite 9000. Images were analyzed by two independent observers. Each image was independently measured twice by each observer to determine the intraobserver repeatability. RESULTS: A total of 55 eyes were included. The average ChT of the subfoveal area using SS-OCT and SD-OCT was 430.5 ± 68.1 and 428.5 ± 57.9 μm, respectively, which did not show a significant result as the main effect in the repeated-measure analysis of variance (P = 0.067). Using SS-OCT, the intraobserver intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of both observers was > 0.950 at every measured point, and the interobserver coefficient of repeatability (CR) of the subfoveal area was 45.1 μm (95% confidence interval (CI), 40.8–49.4). Using SD-OCT, the intraobserver ICC of both observers was > 0.800, and the interobserver CR of the subfoveal area was 71.2 μm (95% CI, 64.4–78.0). Additionally, the intraobserver and interobserver CRs showed significantly better repeatability in SS-OCT than SD-OCT in F-test. In patients with ChT ≥ 400 μm, the interobserver CRs of SS-OCT and SD-OCT were 48.4 (95% CI, 42.6–54.2) and 95.2 μm (95% CI, 83.9–106.6), respectively. In patients with a subfoveal active lesion, the interobserver CRs were 44.5 (95% CI, 37.6–51.4) and 100.1 μm (95% CI, 84.6–115.5), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Although the ChT measurements were comparable between SS-OCT and SD-OCT devices in pachychoroid diseases, SD-OCT showed low reliability in patients with ChT ≥ 400 μm and subfoveal active lesions. SS-OCT would be therefore more suitable for observation and follow-up of choroidal structures in pachychoroid diseases.