Choriocapillaris flow deficits and choroidal vascular index in the fellow eye of patients with central serous chorioretinopathy

Purpose: To evaluate choroidal changes in the fellow eyes of patients with chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR). Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 50 participants, including 25 patients with unilateral chronic CSCR and 25 age-matched healthy controls. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) enhanced depth imaging (EDI) and OCT-angiography (OCT-A) images were processed using ImageJ, and three parameters were analyzed: flow deficit (FD), subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT), and choroidal vascular index (CVI). Results: CSCR eyes had significantly higher SFCT (320.9 ± 59.5), FD (54.2 ± 9.2), and CVI (52.8 ± 18.2) compared to healthy controls (SFCT 263.8 ± 66.6; FD 43.9 ± 9.9; CVI 22.6 ± 11.8). No significant differences were found between CSCR and fellow eyes, but fellow eyes showed higher values (SFCT 296.6 ± 51.9; FD 44.5 ± 6.3; CVI 46.5 ± 20.3) than healthy controls. ANOVA confirmed group differences, with post-hoc tests showing CSCR eyes differed significantly from healthy controls. Pearson’s analysis found positive correlations for SFCT but inconsistent correlations between FD and CVI, limiting reliability. Conclusions: This study confirms choroidal vascular changes in both CSCR and fellow eyes, suggesting their role in pathogenesis and a possible genetic or environmental predisposition. These findings may help improve diagnosis, prognosis, and risk assessment in patients with CSCR.