Pappa Padmavathi, Geetha Kumari Padinjarepattath Vasudevan, Maria Tinu Panakkal George
BACKGROUND Central Serous Retinopathy (CSR) is one of the common retinal diseases encountered in young patients, characterized by accumulation of serous fluid between the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and neurosensory retina leading to detachment of neurosensory retina at macula. It affects males more often than females. The disease usually resolves itself within three months after the onset, sometimes results in chronic maculopathy that might permanently affect visual acuity. The abnormal permeability of inner choriocapillaries with eventual leak of RPE occurs in CSR. Several risk factors for CSR have been described, although how they relate to the disease is poorly understood. Here, the importance of our study to understand the clinical profile and factors predisposing to the development of CSR. MATERIALS AND METHODS It is a cross sectional study, conducted in Department of Ophthalmology, Government Medical College, Thrissur. 88 patients, diagnosed to have CSR and treated in our institution, in a period of 1 year, were selected for study. RESULTS CSR found to be more common in young male patients, mostly between 31- 50 yrs. age group. Most of them had acute (75%) and unilateral (90%) presentation. Chronic CSR was associated with poor visual acuity. Majority of our patients (86.3%) improved with medical management. CONCLUSION Females had more chance of developing acute CSR than males, in which chronic CSR was more compared to in females. Though statistically insignificant, steroid intake, Hypertension and type A personality were associated with acute CSR in 89.5%. Apart from clinical evaluation, Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) – a non-invasive technique, has an important role in diagnosis and follow up of CSR, though Fundus Fluorescein Angiography (FFA), a confirmatory tool for identifying the site of the retinal pigment epithelial leaks.
