Intravitreal Bevacizumab in Treatment of Idiopathic Persistent Central Serous Chorioretinopathy: A Prospective, Controlled Clinical Study

Purpose: To evaluate and determine the effect of intravitreal bevacizumab in treatment of persistent central serous chorioretinopathy. Methods: This prospective, comparative clinical study included 30 eyes of 30 patients with persistent, symptomatic central serous chorioretinopathy of 3 months' duration or more. Fifteen eyes of 15 patients were treated with intravitreal injections of 2.5 mg (0.1 ml) bevacizumab (treatment group). Fifteen eyes of 15 patients with the same characteristics who declined treatment were an acceptable control group. The visual and anatomic responses were observed with best-corrected visual acuity and central foveal thickness measured by optic coherence tomography at baseline,1, 3, and 6 months after treatment. Results: Twelve (80%) eyes in the treatment group compared with 8 (53.3%) eyes in the control group showed morphologic restitution at 6 months (P < 0.01). All 15 (100%) treated eyes had stable or improved vision, compared with 10 (66.6%) eyes in the control group (P < 0.01). At 6 months, the mean +/- SD central foveal thickness for the treatment group remained significantly lower compared to the control group, with 174 +/- 68 mu m and 297 +/- 172 mu m, respectively (P < 0.001). Injection-related complications were not encountered. Conclusions: Our results indicate that intravitreal bevacizumab injection may be a new, promising treatment option for select patients with idiopathic persistent central serous chorioretinopathy. Continued studies with intravitreal bevacizumab in this population will help to establish its long-term efficacy.