Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) treatment on the functional and structural parameters of chronic central serous retinopathy (CSR).
Methods: PubMed was used to systematically review literature published from 1 January 2009 to 1 July 2022. Studies were included if patients in their cohort had symptoms for more than 3 months, anti-VEGF treatment was provided and the following outcomes were reported: best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central macular thickness (CMT) and proportion of subretinal fluid (SRF) resolution.
Results: 339 eyes met inclusion criteria with a mean patient age of 45.8±4.9 years. The weighted mean baseline BCVA for the 20 studies was 0.39±0.23 logMAR, which improved to 0.28±0.24 after treatment with anti-VEGF injections (p=0.069). The weighted baseline CMT for the 20 studies decreased from 395.2±52.0 µm to 243.0±41.9 µm (p<0.001). The weighted overall percentage of SRF resolution was 68.4%.
Conclusion: Anti-VEGF treatment demonstrated significantly decreased macular thickness and resolution of SRF in the treatment of chronic CSR without any reported adverse effects. However, BCVA did not significantly improve with pharmacotherapy.
Keywords: Imaging; Macula; Retina; Vision.
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