Association between visual function and the integrity of residual ellipsoid zone in resolved central serous chorioretinopathy

Central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) usually resolves spontaneously; however, in some patients, it can be chronic and visual impairment remains even after resolution of the serous retinal detachment. The impaired photoreceptor cells often present with disrupted ellipsoid zone (EZ) on optical coherence tomography (OCT). In this study, the integrity of EZ was quantified by calculating the index of residual EZ, identified on binarized OCT images from 25 eyes of 23 patients with resolved CSC. To estimate residual EZ, integrity of residual EZ with the central horizontal line on the fovea (rEZc) and average integrity of residual EZ within 3 x 3-mm macular area (rEZave) were investigated. The interrater reliability of the method was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The relationship between LogMAR VA and age, central retinal thickness, central choroidal thickness, rEZc, and rEZave were evaluated using the linear mixed model. Retinal sensitivity was measured with the MP-3 microperimeter and similar analyses were iterated for mean retinal sensitivity (MS). ICC values were 0.938 with rEZc and 0.979 with rEZave. rEZc was significantly related to LogMAR VA (p = 0.039). rEZave was significantly related to MS (p < 0.001). These results suggested potential usefulness of residual EZ to predict visual function in resolved CSC.