Central serous chorioretinopathy and pregnancy.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Fourteen cases of central serous chorioretinopathy in pregnancy had been reported before this study was conducted. These cases have suggested a nonwhite predominance. Subretinal fibrinous exudates have been seen in 90% of the patients, compared with fewer than 20% of patients in typical (nonpregnant) central serous chorioretinopathy. No case has recurred outside of pregnancy, to our knowledge, and there have been no reports of subsequent pregnancies uninvolved by this disorder. These findings led us to collect our cases of central serous retinopathy in pregnancy because our experience differed from that of previous reports and provides additional new information.

DESIGN

Case series.

SETTING

The Wilmer Institute Retinal Vascular Center, Baltimore, Md.

PATIENTS

Questionnaires sent to retinal faculty and fellows and a review of files revealed four patients, all included herein, with central serous chorioretinopathy presenting during pregnancy.

RESULTS

All four patients were white. Three patients had subretinal fibrinous exudates and/or precipitates. All experienced resolution of the serous detachment near the end of the pregnancy or within the first few months after delivery. Only one patient had a subsequent pregnancy, and this was not complicated by the presence of central serous chorioretinopathy. One other patient experienced a recurrence 2 1/2 years after her last pregnancy.

CONCLUSIONS

There may be no racial predominance in the development of central serous chorioretinopathy in pregnancy. Subretinal fibrinous exudates are quite common, independent of race. The uninvolved subsequent pregnancy suggests that recurrence in the context of pregnancy is not inevitable. This disorder may recur outside of pregnancy.