Serous retinal detachment in patients under systemic corticosteroid treatment.

PURPOSE To understand the pathophysiology of central serous chorioretinopathy or bullous retinal detachment in patients under systemic corticosteroid treatment. Little is understood about the mechanism of the development of serous retinal detachment. METHODS Three patients who had developed central serous chorioretinopathy or bullous retinal detachment during systemic corticosteroid administration were examined by fluorescein angiography and indocyanine green angiography. RESULTS Indocyanine green angiography revealed dilated choroidal veins, delayed choroidal filling, intrachoroidal hyperfluorescence, and patchy hypofluorescence at or near the sites of dye leakage examined by fluorescein angiography. CONCLUSIONS The primary change caused by central serous chorioretinopathy is thought to occur in the choroid, followed by the breakdown of the outer blood-retinal barrier in the pigment epithelium, resulting in the development of serous retinal detachment.