Eplerenone Treatment in Chronic Central Serous Chorioretinopathy

Cureus. 2021 Oct 1;13(10):e18415. doi: 10.7759/cureus.18415. eCollection 2021 Oct.

Abstract

Background The study examined the efficacy of eplerenone in the management of chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR) with the aim of short-term observations. The study also aimed at observing changes in optical coherence tomography (OCT) parameters and visual acuity. Methodology This retrospective study was conducted at Layton Rahmatulla Benevolent Trust (LRBT) Eye Hospital from September 2019 to October 2020. A thorough ocular examination, color fundus photographs, fluorescein angiography, and macular OCT were performed on all patients. We administered one tablet of 50 mg eplerenone on day one and further advised the use of the same dose for 30 days. After the administration of the tablet, the patients were further analyzed on weeks one, two, and four. On every visit, we examined ophthalmic conditions by visual acuity, slit lamp, and dilated fundus examinations along with macular OCT and measured blood pressure. At follow-up, we measured the levels of serum creatinine at weeks one and four. Student's t-test and chi-square test were used for normal distribution and nominal variables. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant in all the analyses. Results A total of 15 patients were selected for this research, but unfortunately, two of them withdrew amid the study. For the remaining 13 patients, the mean duration of observing symptoms was three months and three weeks. At one-month follow-up, the mean subretinal fluid (SRF) height (94.18 μm) decreased, but we did not find any statistical significance between the SRF height at one-month follow-up and baseline (113.15 μm). In four patients, the SRF height increased up to 3-30 μm after four months of treatment. In our study, we found some negative consequences of eplerenone therapy in terms of hypertension, cramps, nausea, and migraine. Conclusion We concluded that short-term eplerenone treatment assists in the reduction of the choroidal thickness (CT) and central macular thickness (CMT) among patients with central serous chorioretinopathy. However, eplerenone treatment failed to decrease subretinal fluid height and does not bring any significant improvement in the visual acuity of patients. Some mild adverse effects of the treatment include hypertension, abdominal cramps, nausea, and migraine.

Keywords: choroidal thickness; cscr; eplerenone; macula; srf.