Central Serous Chorioretinopathy After Epidural Corticosteroid Injection

Purpose: To report three patients who developed central serous chorioretinopathy after epidural corticosteroid injection for treatment of back pain.

Design: Interventional case series.

Methods: Three men, aged 73, 52, and 73 years, presented with bilateral central serous chorioretinopathy after corticosteroid injection in the epidural space for treatment of back pain. In all three cases, we did not initially elicit the history of corticosteroid use.

Results: Two of the three patients, aged 52 and 73 years, had diffuse retinal pigment epitheliopathy and one, aged 73 years, had classic central serous chorioretinopathy. Two patients had a spontaneous resolution of the subretinal fluid in both eyes. One patient had laser photocoagulation in both eyes but continued to have diffuse leakage in one eye.

Conclusions: A careful history to determine corticosteroid use, including possible intrajoint and epidural injection, should be performed in older people with serous detachment of the macula, particularly when bilateral.