Central Serous Chorioretinopathy in African Americans at Wilmer Eye Institute.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the frequency of central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) in African Americans/blacks within an academic center in a predominantly African American city, as the current belief is that CSC is rare in this population. METHODS: A retrospective review of all patients' charts diagnosed with CSC at Wilmer Eye Institute/Johns Hopkins University from August 2009-August 2015 was conducted via an electronic health record search (EPIC). The charts were categorized by self-reported race and gender. The diagnosis was confirmed by multiple physician consensus through chart and imaging review. Fluorescein angiograms were classified as single versus multiple point leakage. OCTs were evaluated for subfoveal thickness, location of fluid, presence or absence of pigment epithelial detachment. Color photos were categorized as to the extent of retinal pigment epithelial changes. RESULTS: Of the 590 charts identified via EPIC as CSC patients, 407 were confirmed as CSC through chart and imaging review. 45 patients (11.1%) were African Americans and 298 patients (73.2%) were Caucasians. Of all patients seen during the study period, 0.09% of African Americans at Wilmer had CSC and 0.18% of Caucasians had CSC. While three fold more Caucasians were seen during the study period as compared to African Americans, this study's prevalence rate in African Americans/blacks at Wilmer Eye Institute was half of that in Caucasian/whites. CONCLUSIONS: CSC has been reported as exceedingly rare in African Americans, but our study suggests that CSC may be underestimated in this population. A large nationally representative population based study is needed to determine true racial prevalence to ensure that the diagnosis of CSC is not overlooked in African Americans.

Prevalence and associations of central serous chorioretinopathy in elderly Chinese. The Beijing Eye Study 2011.

PURPOSE: To determine the prevalence and associations of central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) in elderly Chinese. METHODS: The population-based cross-sectional Beijing Eye Study 2011 included 3468 individuals (age: 64.6 ± 9.8 years; range: 50-93 years), who underwent enhanced depth imaging of spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). CSC was defined as serous detachment of the retina in the macular region without signs of haemorrhages or signs of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy, exudative age-related macular degeneration or other retinal vascular disorders, both on fundus photographs and on optical coherence tomography (OCT) images. RESULTS: Central serous chorioretinopathy was diagnosed in 10 eyes (prevalence rate: 0.15 ± 0.05%; 95% confidence interval (CI):0.06%, 0.25%) of 10 subjects (prevalence rate: 0.31 ± 0.10%; 95% CI: 0.12%, 0.50%). In five subjects, CSC was located foveally, and in five subjects, CSC was located extrafoveally. All subjects affected by foveal CSC were men, and three of the five individuals with extrafoveal CSC were men. In univariate analysis, subjects with CSC were significantly younger than the remaining study participants, and foveal CSC showed a significant (p = 0.02) predilection for men. After adjusting for age and gender, individuals with foveal CSC (383 ± 112 µm versus 270 ± 47 µm; p = 0.02) and the whole group of subjects with CSC had a significantly thicker subfoveal choroid. In a parallel manner, eyes contralateral to eyes with foveal CSC showed a significantly thicker subfoveal choroid than the age-adjusted control group (413 ± 74 µm versus 270 ± 47 µm; p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In Chinese aged 50+ years, the prevalence of CSC was 0.14% per subject. The choroid in the CSC affected eyes and in the contralateral unaffected eyes was significantly thicker than in an age- and gender-adjusted control population-based group.

CHOROIDAL NEOVASCULARIZATION IN CAUCASIAN PATIENTS WITH LONGSTANDING CENTRAL SEROUS CHORIORETINOPATHY.

PURPOSE: To report the frequency of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in Caucasian patients with chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC). METHODS: Retrospective consecutive series of 272 eyes (136 patients) who were diagnosed as having chronic CSC based on clinical and multimodal fundus imaging findings and documented disease activity for at least 6 months. The CNVs were mainly determined by indocyanine-green angiography. RESULTS: Patients were evaluated and followed for a maximum of 6 years, with an average follow-up of 14 ± 12 months. Distinct CNV was identified in 41 eyes (34 patients). Based on fluorescein angiography, 37 eyes showed occult with no classic CNV, 3 eyes showed predominantly classic and 1 eye had a disciform CNV. Furthermore, indocyanine-green angiography revealed polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy lesions, in 27 of the 37 eyes, classified as occult CNV on fluorescein angiography. In total, 17.6% of our patients with chronic CSC were found to have CNV that upon indocyanine-green angiography were recognized as being polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy. CONCLUSION: In our series of Caucasian patients, we found a significant correlation between chronic CSC and CNV, in which the majority of patients with CNV were found to have polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy. Our findings suggest that indocyanine-green angiography is an indispensable tool in the investigation of chronic CSC.