Long-term results of half-dose photodynamic therapy for chronic central serous chorioretinopathy with contrast sensitivity changes.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of photodynamic therapy (PDT) with half-dose verteporfin in patients with chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (CCSC) and retinal functional changes, by functional acuity contrast test (FACT). METHODS: In this study, 27 eyes of 24 patients with CCSC were treated with PDT with half-dose verteporfin. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central foveal thickness (CFT) and resolution of subretinal fluid on optical coherence tomography (OCT), and leakage on fluorescein angiography (FA) and indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) were assessed. Contrast sensitivity test was performed at baseline and at 12th month for investigating retinal functional changes. RESULTS: The mean follow-up period was 25.33 ± 11.08 months. The mean age was 43.7 ± 8.6 years. Seventeen patients were male (70.8%) and seven patients were female (29.2%). Post PDT at 1st, 3rd, 6th, 12th month and at last follow-up, BCVA were significantly improved compared with the baseline BCVA (P<0.001), and CFT post PDT were significantly thinner than the baseline measurement (P<0.001). There was significant difference between pre- and post-PDT 12th month contrast sensitivities at all five different spatial frequency channels (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Half-dose PDT is an effective and safe method in the treatment of CCSC with anatomical and functional success. The measurement of contrast sensitivity by FACT can be useful for evaluating the functional effectiveness of half-dose PDT for CCSC.