Short-term efficacy of subthreshold micropulse yellow laser (577-nm) photocoagulation for chronic central serous chorioretinopathy

Purpose To investigate the short-term efficacy of subthreshold micropulse yellow laser photocoagulation in the treatment of chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC). Methods A retrospective case series study was performed from April 2012 to June 2014 at Nune Eye Hospital. A total of ten eyes of ten chronic or chronic recurrent CSC patients received subthreshold micropulse yellow laser photocoagulation with a 15 % duty cycle at a reduced energy level from the micropulse laser test burn. Laser exposure time was 20 ms, and the spot diameter was 100 μm. Patients were followed up at the authors’ hospital for at least 3 months. Results Mean age of patients was 43.9 years. The baseline best-corrected visual acuity was 0.21 ± 0.21 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR), which was improved to 0.055 ± 0.093 logMAR ( p = 0.020) at the 3-month follow-up and 0.035 ± 0.063 logMAR ( p = 0.012) at final follow-up. Central macular thickness at baseline was 349.2 ± 53.2 μm, which was changed to 250.7 ± 28.8 μm ( p = 0.009) at the 3-month follow-up and 261.2 ± 38.31 μm ( p = 0.009) at final follow-up. Conclusions Subthreshold micropulse yellow laser photocoagulation showed short-term efficacy in treating chronic CSC without retinal damage. However, prospective, randomized, and comparative large-scale studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of this treatment.