Early choriocapillaris changes after half-fluence photodynamic therapy in chronic central serous chorioretinopathy evaluated by optical coherence tomography angiography: Preliminary results

Abstract Background The purpose of this study is to examine the choridal perfusion in patients with chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) after half-fluence photodynamic therapy (PDT) in the early post-treatment period. Methods This retrospective study included patients with chronic CSC. Indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) guided half-fluence PDT was applied to the all eyes. Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was assessed by Snellen chart and central retinal thickness (CRT) and subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) was measured by spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) before PDT and at 3 and 30 days following the therapy. Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) was performed to evaluate choriocapillaris perfusion in all patients before PDT and 3 and 30 days of therapy. Results Of the patients participating in this study, the mean age was 49.8 ± 14.1 years. BCVA remained stable in all eyes during follow-up period. CRT was 360 ± 148 μm at baseline, 327 ± 133 μm at day 3 and 203 ± 40 μm at day 30 after treatment. Subretinal fluid totally resolved at day 30 in all eyes. The mean SFCT was 493 ± 67 μm at baseline, 498 ± 71 μm at day 3 and 450 ± 63 μm at day 30. At day 3, OCTA revealed markedly decreased choriocapillaris flow limited to the site of PDT spot. The choriocapillaris perfusion appeared to be normal in all eyes in OCTA images at day 30. Conclusions OCTA is a noninvasive imaging tool for detecting choroidal vascular changes after PDT in CSC. In this preliminary study of a limited number of CSC patients, choroiocapillaris perfusion seemed to decreased in very early period following half-fluence PDT and then returned to normal until 30 days of therapy.