Abstract
Purpose: :
To examine the choroidal thickness in patients with central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC), a disease attributed to increased choroidal hyperpermeability secondary to hyperdynamic choroidal blood flow and the frequency of glaucoma in these patients.
Methods: :
Patients with CSC underwent enhanced depth imaging spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT), which was obtained by positioning a spectral domain OCT device close enough to the eye to acquire an inverted image. Seven sections each comprised of 100 averaged scans were obtained within a 5x 30 rectangle to encompass the macula. The subfoveal choroidal thickness was measured from the outer border of the retinal pigment epithelium to the inner scleral border. Consecutive patients with CSC examined from January 1, 2006 through July 31, 2008 were compared with a gender- and age-matched control group from the same referral practice seen over the same period for the frequency of glaucoma and intraocular pressure measurements.
Results: :
The choroidal thickness measured in 28 eligible eyes of 19 patients was 505 µm (standard deviation 124 µm), which was significantly greater than the choroidal thickness in normal eyes (P <0.001). Glaucoma was found in 3 of 291 patients (1%) with CSC and in 18 of 237 control subjects (7.6%) (P <0.001, odds ratio: 0.13). The mean IOP was not different in the two groups.
Conclusions: :
EDI-OCT demonstrated a very thick choroid in eyes with CSC, consistent with the hypothesis of underlying choroidal vascular hyperpermeability. Patients with CSC may be at lower risk of glaucoma possibly because of the choroidal blood flow alterations.
Keywords: macula/fovea • choroid • optic nerve