Assessment of metamorphopsia in patients with central serous chorioretinopathy.

BACKGROUND

To evaluate the presence and extent of metamorphopsia using M-CHARTS TM (Inami Co., Tokyo, Japan) in patients with central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC).

DESIGN

Retrospective consecutive medical record review in a university hospital.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We examined 33 eyes of 33 consecutive CSC patients using M-CHARTS, which yields scores reflecting the severity of metamorphopsia. The condition was considered present when an M-CHARTS score was 0.3 or over. In all patients, optical coherence tomography (OCT) was performed, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was assessed, and M-CHARTS scores were calculated at the first and the 1- and 3-month follow-up visits. The correlation between M-CHARTS scores and BCVA values was determined. We also sought to define relationships between the level of metamorphopsia and specific OCT findings.

RESULTS

Of 33 CSC patients, 15 showed symptoms of metamorphopsia, and all 15 had M-CHARTS scores of over 0.3. However, no correlation was evident between BCVA values and the extent of metamorphopsia as determined using M-CHARTS. In metamorphopsia patients, the incidence of focal retinal pigment epithelial detachment was notably greater than in the non-metamorphopsia group (P = 0.03).

CONCLUSION

M-CHARTS is valuable for monitoring subjective symptom improvement during the clinical course of CSC. M-CHARTS serves as a useful adjunct to OCT.