Long-term outcomes of half-fluence photodynamic therapy and eplerenone in chronic central serous chorioretinopathy: A comparative study

Aims: To compare the long-term outcomes in chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (cCSC) following half-fluence photodynamic therapy (HF-PDT) and oral eplerenone treatment. Methods: This retrospective comparative study included consecutive patients of cCSC treated with either HF-PDT or eplerenone. The treatment outcomes of the two groups were analyzed at 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month post-treatment. Results: This study included 20 eyes (20 patients) in HF-PDT group, and 18 eyes (18 patients) in eplerenone group. All baseline parameters in HF-PDT and eplerenone groups were comparable including neurosensory detachment height (217.05 +/- 140.25 mu m vs 178.05 +/- 164.24 mu m respectively, p = 0.09), best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) (logMAR 0.24 +/- 0.13 vs logMAR 0.46 +/- 0.37 respectively, p = 0.1), and subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) [427.4 +/- 117.4 mu m vs 456.38 +/- 119.25 mu m respectively, p = 0.45]. HF-PDT resulted in complete resolution of neurosensory detachment in higher proportion of eyes compared to eplerenone at each follow-up visits (3 months: 90% vs 27.7%, p = 0; 6 months: 100% vs 61.1%, p = 0.003; and 12 months: 100% vs 70%, p = 0.03) with a significantly shorter duration to resolution (3.3 +/- 0.9 months vs 5.8 +/- 3.3 months respectively, p = 0.02). Intergroup comparison showed no significant difference between mean BCVA (p = 0.38 at 3 months, p = 0.14 at 6 months, and p = 0.19 at 12 months). Mean SFCT at 12 months of the two groups differed significantly (p = 0.003) due to increased choroidal thickness of eplerenone group. Conclusion: HF-PDT has a superior efficacy to achieve faster, greater and long-lasting resolution of subretinal fluid in cCSC compared to eplerenone therapy.