Comparative Study of Subjects with Chronic Central Serous Chorioretinopathy Undergoing Half-Dose or Time-Reduced Photodynamic Therapy

Purpose: To compare the clinical outcomes of reduced fluence (time-reduced) photodynamic therapy (PDT) and half-dose PDT in treating chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC).Methods: Medical records of patients who underwent half-dose or reduced fluence PDT for chronic CSC were reviewed.The clinical outcomes of 34 eyes that underwent half-dose PDT and 39 eyes that underwent reduced fluence PDT were compared.Results: Six months after treatment, complete absorption of subretinal fluid was observed in 29 of 34 eyes (85.3%) in the half-dose PDT group and 36 of 39 eyes (92.3%) in the reduced fluence PDT group (p = 0.46).Twenty-one of 34 (61.8%)eyes in the half-dose PDT group and 27 of 39 (69.2%) eyes in the reduced fluence PDT group achieved visual improvement of more than one line in the Snellen chart (p = 0.62).Focal retinal pigment epithelium degeneration after treatment was noted in 7 of 27 eyes (25.9%) in the half-dose PDT group and 10 of 30 (33.3%) eyes in the reduced fluence PDT group (p = 0.58).Conclusions: Reduced fluence PDT showed a favorable outcome, similar to that of half-dose PDT, in treating chronic CSC.Because of its convenient preparation and application, reduced fluence (low-fluence) PDT might be an alternative treatment modality in treating chronic CSC.