Efficacy of 1/3-Dose Verteporfin Photodynamic Therapy for Subacute Central Serous Chorioretinopathy

Purpose: To study the safety and efficacy of 1/3-dose verteporfin photodynamic therapy (PDT) for subacute central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC). Methods: In this case series, 59 eyes (59 patients) diagnosed with subacute CSC in Shenyang the 4th hospital from January 2014 to December 2015 were treated with 1/3-dose verteporfin PDT and followed up for at least 1 year. The symptoms and the diagnosed history were more than 3 months but shorter than 6 months. The central foveal thickness (CFT), neuroretinal thickness (NRT), height of subfoveal retinal fluid (SRF), and subfoveal choroidal thickness (SCT) were observed at baseline and after treated at 1, 2, 3, 6 and 12 months with EDI-OCT, Best-corrected visual acuity ( BCVA) was also studied at the same time. Results: After 1, 2, 3 and 6 months of 1/3-dose verteporfin PDT treatment, the BCVA improved significantly (P < 0.01) comparing to the base-line. The LogMAR BCVA of baseline and 1, 2, 3, 6 and 12 months was 0.553 ± 0.11, 0.201 ± 0.13, 0.149 ± 0.10, 0.137 ± 0.09, 0.143 ± 0.07 and 0.148 ± 0.08 respectively. OCT scan showed that the subfoveal choroid thickness (SCT) was 458.25 ± 24.23 μm, 379.31 ± 9.31 μm, 353.24 ± 8.57 μm, 349.35 ± 7.51 μm, 365.23 ± 8.08 μm and 358.41 ± 7.96 at baseline and 1, 2, 3, 6 and 12 months respectively. The SCT of 1, 2, and 3 months after treatment reduced significantly (P < 0.01) comparing to baseline. The neuroretinal thickness (NRT) was not significantly different after 1/3-dose PDT (P > 0.05). The height of SRF changed significantly. There was no retinal pigment epithelium atrophy and choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in all cases after more than 12 months follow-up. Conclusion: Treatment of 1/3 dose verteporfin PDT could safely and effectively reduce expansion of choroidal vessel and choroidal choriocapillary, promoting absorbance of subretinal fluid for subacute CSC. 1/3-dose verteporfin PDT may be an alternative method to treat the subacute CSC.