Association between subretinal fluid duration in central serous chorioretinopathy and chorioretinal structure in unaffected fellow eyes

This study investigated the association between the duration of subretinal fluid (SRF) persistence in affected eyes and baseline chorioretinal structure in unaffected fellow eyes among patients with unilaterally naïve central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC). This retrospective case series comprised 25 healthy control patients and 46 patients with unilaterally naïve CSC, defined as first-episode and untreated within 1 month from symptom onset, who were categorized into prolonged (> 3 months) and nonprolonged (≤ 3 months) groups according to SRF duration in affected eyes from the first visit. Central retinal thickness, outer nuclear layer thickness, central choroidal thickness (CCT), luminal area (LA), stromal area (SA), total choroidal area (TCA), and choroidal vascularity index (CVI) were measured in unaffected fellow eyes at the first visit, and the duration of SRF persistence in affected eyes was recorded. As a result, CCT, SA and TCA were significantly greater, and CVI was significantly lower in the unaffected fellow eyes compared to the healthy control eyes (all p < 0.05). The optimal model for predicting SRF persistence > 3 months in affected eyes involved CVI (p = 0.015) in fellow eyes. Baseline choroidal thickening, mainly in the choroidal stroma of unaffected fellow eyes, was shown to correlate with SRF persistence in the affected eyes in unilateral naïve CSC. This information may be valuable for the identifying cases with a heightened risk of prolonged SRF persistence and for the timely initiation of treatment.