Choroidal Hemodynamics in Central Serous Chorioretinopathy after Half-dose Photodynamic Therapy and the Effects of Smoking

This retrospective study aimed to evaluate choroidal hemodynamics after half-dose photodynamic therapy (PDT) for chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) and the effects of smoking using laser speckle flowgraphy (LSFG). This study included 29 eyes of 29 patients treated with half-dose PDT for chronic CSC. The mean blur rate (MBR) in the PDT irradiation area (whole area), the pachyvessel (PV) area, non-PV (NPV) area, and filling delay (FD) area were assessed respectively. The MBR was also assessed by smoking status. The MBR significantly decreased in the whole, PV, NPV, and FD areas at all time points ( P  < 0.001). Of the 29 patients, 6 were never smokers, 13 were past smokers, and 10 were current smokers. At baseline, no significant difference was found in the MBR in the whole, PV, NPV, and FD areas among never, past, and current smokers. The MBR changes showed a significantly smaller decrease in current smokers than in never smokers in the whole ( P  = 0.021), PV ( P  = 0.009), and NPV ( P  = 0.034) areas, but not in the FD area ( P  = 0.172). Half-dose PDT for chronic CSC reduced choroidal blood flow in the PDT-irradiated area, which was blunted by current smoking status.