Purpose To compare the efficacy and safety of subthreshold micropulse laser (SML) with threshold conventional laser (TCL) in central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC). Methods Prospective, randomized, double-masked, non-inferiority, 12-week clinical trial. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 to SML group or TCL group. Patients in the SML group were treated with 577 nm micropulse laser. The spot size was 160 µm, the duty cycle was 5% and exposure time was 0.2 s. The power was 50% threshold tested. Patients in the TCL group were treated with 577 nm continuous laser. The power was 100% threshold tested. The primary outcome was the mean change in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at week 12, with a non-inferiority limit of five letters on the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) visual acuity charts. Results Eighty-eight patients were enroled. Seventy-seven patients were male. Forty-four patients were in SML group and 44 in TCL group. At week 12, SML was equivalent to TCL with a gain of 6.23 ± 8.59 and 6.61 ± 6.35 letters, respectively, (SML-TCL difference: −0.38 letters; 95% confidence interval (CI):−3.58-2.81; P non-inferiority = 0.0026). There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups (t = 0.240, P = 0.811). At week 12, the proportion of patients whose SRF had been totally absorbed was 63.63 and 81.82% respectively for SML and TCL groups. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups (χ 2 = 3.67, P = 0.056). Conclusions Both SML and TCL can improve visual acuity in CSC. SML was non-inferior to TCL in the improvement of BCVA.

The objective of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and to assess the invariance of its items with respect to several patient parameters via Rasch analysis. Data were aggregated from 9,845 patients with various skin diseases across 9 hospitals in different regions of China. The response structure, local independence, and reliability of the DLQI scale were analysed in a partial credit model, and differential item functioning (DIF) across region, disease, sex, and age were assessed with a Mantel-Haenszel procedure. Although acceptable scale reliability (Person Separation Index=2.3) was obtained, several problems were revealed, including disordered response thresholds, misfitting items, DIF by geogra-phical region and disease, and mis-targeting patients with mild impairment regarding health-related quality of life (HRQL). In conclusion, the DLQI provides inadequate information on patients' impairments in HRQL, and the application of the DLQI in Chinese patients with skin disease is limited.

Objectives: To explore the optical coherence tomography (OCT) biomarkers to predict the transition to chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (cCSC) after retinal laser photocoagulation. Methods: Patients enrolled in this study were from a 12-week clinical trial comparing the efficacy and safety of subthreshold micropulse laser (SML) with threshold conventional laser (TCL) for CSC and had extended follow-up for more than 1 year. They were divided into two groups, transited to cCSC group (cCSC group) and did not transited to cCSC group (non-cCSC group) according to fundus examination at the extended follow-up. Collect the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and OCT characteristics of patients at baseline and 12 weeks after laser treatment. Results: Twenty-seven patients were enrolled (42.6 ± 7.7 years old), and duration of follow-up was 178.9 ± 88.8 (57.0–312.0) weeks. Nine patients (33.3%) were assigned to cCSC group, and the other 18 patients (66.7%) were assigned to the non-cCSC group. Twelve weeks after the laser treatment, subretinal fluid (SRF) of 15 patients (83.3%) in non-cCSC group and 5 patients (55.6%) in cCSC group absorbed completely; the height of SRF had statistical difference between two groups ( p = 0.035); rough RPE was less common in cCSC group ( p = 0.030); hyper reflective mass (HRM) was more common in cCSC group ( p = 0.024); more number of hyper reflective foci (HRF) in outer segment of photoreceptor layer were detected in cCSC group ( p = 0.035). From baseline to 12 weeks after laser treatment, the number of HRF in outer segment photoreceptor layer did not change significantly in cCSC group ( p = 0.665) but decreased significantly in non-cCSC group ( p = 0.000). A total of five patients suffered binocular CSC, three of them in the non-cCSC group occurred later than the other two in the cCSC group (129.9–278.3 weeks vs 96.1–114.9 weeks after baseline). Conclusion: SRF, rough RPE, HRM, and number of HRF in outer segment photoreceptor layer 12 weeks after laser treatment, and change in the number of HRF in outer segment photoreceptor layer from baseline to 12 weeks after laser treatment may predict the transition to cCSC.