title: Indocyanine green angiography of central serous chorioretinopathy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Fluorescein angiography has not been particularly useful in studying the choroidal vasculature because of limited fluorescence transmission through the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). Indocyanine green (ICG), a dye that absorbs and fluoresces in the near-infrared range and does not leak extensively through the choriocapillaries, because of its highly protein-bound nature, allows improved imaging of the choroid compared with fluorescein angiography. This study was performed to evaluate changes in the choroidal circulation in the eyes of patients with central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR) using ICG angiography.
  
  
  METHODS
  We prospectively performed ICG angiography and fluorescein angiography in 41 eyes with classic or chronic CSCR (diffuse retinal pigment epitheliopathy) to investigate the choroidal abnormalities.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The ICG angiographic studies revealed choroidal staining in all eyes of the two forms of CSCR. Classic CSCR (35 eyes), when compared with the chronic form (6 eyes), were associated with more RPE leakage (89% vs 33%; p = 0.008), more prominent ischemic lobules (69% vs 0; p = 0.003), and less late phase hypofluorescent spots (46% vs 100%; p = 0.02).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Choroidal hyperpermeability may be a causative factor of acute or chronic CSCR and may help in the diagnosis of atypical cases of CSCR. The differences in the results between these two types of CSCR using ICG angiography, allowed for a better understanding of the choroidal hemodynamic change than fluorescein angiography.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Veterans General Hospital-Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: F L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000792:Angiography; D002829:Choroid / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D006801:Humans; D007208:Indocyanine Green; D008266:Macula Lutea; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010539:Permeability; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012163:Retinal Detachment / Q000175:diagnosis*
chemical_list: D007208:Indocyanine Green