Nondamaging laser therapy treats chronic chorioretinopathy

Nondamaging retinal laser therapy may be used as a treatment for chronic and potentially acute central serous chorioretinopathy, according to a meta-analysis of current literature.

The analysis included 16 prospective or retrospective studies with 398 patients. A variety of lasers and laser settings were used, with the common intent of causing no tissue damage. Fifteen studies evaluated the treatment in patients with chronic central serous chorioretinopathy, while one study applied it to an acute condition. Four studies made prospective comparisons with observation and/or other treatments.

No retinal damage or other complications were reported. The efficacy profile was high, with 72.2% of treated patients achieving a best corrected visual acuity of 20/20 compared with 55.6% in the observation group (P < .001). Improvement occurred over the first 3 months and was maintained over the entire follow-up, which was up to 1 year in some of the studies. Central macular thickness decreased in all patients.

As the authors noted, because not all studies included an observation arm, “it is not clear how much these responses are superior to observation.” However, in the studies that included an observation group, the difference in favor of the treatment arm was statistically significant.

Nondamaging retinal laser therapy needs standardization and more studies to evaluate the long-term outcomes. However, the high efficacy and safety profile make this treatment modality a good candidate to “become the preferred first line of therapy in [central serous chorioretinopathy] to improve vision and prevent retinal structural damage.” – by Michela Cimberle

Disclosures : Wood reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the study for all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.

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Source:

Wood EH, et al. Retina. 2017;doi:10.1097/IAE.0000000000001386.