Choroidal features in flat irregular pigment epithelial detachment associated with Chronic central serous chorioretinopathy: Avascular versus vascularized
Hamid Riazi Esfahani1 *, Hooshang Faghihi1 , Elias Khalili Pour1 , Nazanin Ebrahimiadib1 , Alireza Mahmoudi1 , Fariba Ghassemi1 , Fatemeh bazvand1 , Ahmad Mirshahi1 , Kaveh Fadakar1 , Alireza Khodabande1
- Retina Service, Farabi Eye Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Abstract: To investigate the differences in the choroidal biomarkers between two forms of flat irregular
pigment epithelial detachment (FIPED): avascular (aFIPED) and vascularized (vFIPED) in
eyes with chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC).
Methods: Enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT) was done in eyes with
FIPED correlated to chronic CSC, fellow eyes, and also in healthy eyes from gender- and
age-matched subjects. Eyes with FIPED were classified into two subgroups based on optical
coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) findings: vFIPED and aFIPED. Different
choroidal biomarkers such as subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT), total choroidal area
(TCA), and choroidal vascular index (CVI) were compared between the groups.
Results: Forty-four eyes from 42 patients with chronic CSC and FIPED along with 40 eyes from 20
healthy subjects were included. OCTA identified vascularization in 14 eyes in the FIPED
group (31.8%). Mean SFCT was higher in the FIPED group compared to two other groups
(p = 0.005). In comparison to patients with aFIPED, patients with vFIPED had lower SFCT
(p = 0.003) and higher CVI (p = 0.020) based on multivariate analysis.
Conclusion: It seems that measurement of CVI along with SFCT may help to differentiate aFIPED from
vFIPED in patients with CSC. Further longitudinal studies would be required to confirm the
clinical significance of these findings.
