Purpose: : To investigate the retinal thickness and the retinal sensitivity of retinal areas that showed variations in fundus autofluorescence (FAF) in patients with acute and chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC).
Methods: : In this prospective study eyes with acute and chronic CSC were analysed with optical coherence tomography (OCT Stratus Zeiss, Germany), FAF detected with confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscope (HRA Heidelberg, Germany), and microperimetry (MP1, Nidek Co, Japan) in order to measure the retinal thickness, and the retinal sensitivity of the areas corresponding to altered FAF. All patients were further studied with fluorescein and indocyanine green (ICG) angiography.
Results: : Ten consecutive patients with CSC were enrolled. Mean visual acuity was 20/63. The hypoautofluorescent areas corresponding to the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) atrophy showed decreased retinal sensitivity, while adiacent areas of increased FAF could be associated both to normal or decreased retinal sensitivity. A decreased retinal thickness in correspondence to hypoautofluorescent areas correlates with the absence of the photoreceptor hypereflective line.
Conclusions: : Microperimetry data significantly correlated with FAF and OCT changes in patients with CSC. FAF, reflecting the functional status of the RPE, provides information on the impact of these lesions, which is confirmed by the retinal sensitivity data and the OCT. These tests provide an important correlation between the functional impact and the morphological aspect in these patients. A larger series may be helpful to assess the value of these diagnostic techniques in monitoring and predicting CSC evolution.