Half-dose verteporfin photodynamic therapy for acute central serous chorioretinopathy: one-year results of a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the efficacy of photodynamic therapy (PDT) with half-dose verteporfin for treating acute central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC).

DESIGN

Prospective, double-masked, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial.

PARTICIPANTS AND CONTROLS

Sixty-three eyes of 63 patients with acute symptomatic CSC of 3 months' duration or less were recruited. Forty-three eyes were randomized to indocyanine green angiography (ICGA)-guided PDT with half-dose (3 mg/m(2)) verteporfin and 21 eyes were randomized to placebo.

INTERVENTION

Patients in the verteporfin group received an infusion of half-dose verteporfin over 8 minutes, followed by ICGA-guided PDT 10 minutes from the start of infusion. Laser was applied for 83 seconds covering the choroidal abnormalities observed in ICGA, with a maximum laser spot size of 4500 mum.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The primary outcome measure was the proportion of eyes with absence of subretinal fluid at the macula at 12 months. Secondary outcome measures included changes in mean logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), subjective symptoms, optical coherence tomography (OCT) results, central foveal thickness (CFT), and angiographic findings during the 12-month study period.

RESULTS

Thirty-nine patients in the verteporfin group and 19 patients in the placebo group completed 12 months of follow-up. Thirty-seven (94.9%) eyes in the verteporfin group compared with 11 (57.9%) eyes in the placebo group showed absence of subretinal fluid at the macula at 12 months (P = 0.001). The mean logMAR BCVA at 12 months was significantly better in the verteporfin group compared with the placebo group: -0.05 and 0.05, respectively (P = 0.008). All 39 (100%) verteporfin-treated eyes had stable or improved vision, compared with 15 (78.9%) eyes in the placebo group (P = 0.009). The mean OCT CFT for the verteporfin group also was significantly lower compared with the placebo group at 12 months (P = 0.001). No ocular or systemic adverse event was encountered in the study.

CONCLUSIONS

Photodynamic therapy with half-dose verteporfin is effective in treating acute symptomatic CSC, resulting in a higher proportion of patients with absence of exudative macular detachment and better visual acuity compared with placebo.