REVISED CLASSIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY OUTER RETINAL BANDS BASED ON CENTRAL SEROUS CHORIORETINOPATHY ANALYSIS

Purpose: To evaluate the optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging findings in recent onset neurosensory retinal detachments induced by central serous chorioretinopathy and to attempt to corroborate these findings with proposed anatomical correlates.

Methods: Retinal detachments due to central serous chorioretinopathy of less than 3 months' duration and the surrounding area were scanned with OCT. The imaging of the outer retinal bands was evaluated according to proposals by Cuenca et al and the IN•OCT Consensus classification.

Results: Optical coherence tomography findings in 11 eyes (11 patients) with CSC showed that all hyperreflective bands above Band 4 were variably continuous within the outer portion of the serous detachment. We then attempted to reconcile inconsistencies in current explanations for the outer retinal bands to propose changes to the outer retinal OCT nomenclature.

Conclusion: Our patients' OCT findings support the current standard that Band 3 is an outer retinal structure and that Band 4 represents the retinal pigment epithelium/Bruch complex. Confusion exists regarding whether the interdigitation zone extends halfway up or for the full length of the outer segments, and the hyporeflective band between Bands 3 and 4 has yet to receive an appropriate term. We therefore propose a modification to the IN•OCT Consensus classification by renaming the trilaminar hyporeflective, hyperreflective, and hyporeflective bands between Bands 2 and 4 as the outer segment-interdigitation zone complex consisting of the inner, middle, and outer segment-interdigitation zone, respectively.