Management of cystoid macular edema secondary to retinitis pigmentosa via subliminal micropulse yellow laser

To investigate the effects of subliminal micropulse yellow laser application on the central macular thickness and best-corrected visual acuity in cystoid macular edema secondary to retinitis pigmentosa patients. This prospective open-label clinical trial, conducted between January 2018 and October 2019, included 32 eyes of 29 patients who had cystoid macular edema secondary to retinitis pigmentosa. Patients were treated by subliminal micropulse yellow laser for one session. Central macular thickness and best-corrected visual acuity changes were investigated just before the treatment and 1 year later after the one session of the treatment. The mean central macular thickness was 651.3 μm before the treatment and 247.7 μm at 12 months after the treatment. The decrease in mean central macular thickness was statistically significant (p = 0.01). Median best-corrected visual acuity was 66.8 ETDRS letters before the treatment and 70.0 letters at 12 months after the treatment. The increase in best-corrected visual acuity was not statistically significant (p = 0.18). Eighty-six percent of the patients stated that the quality of central vision increased and that color vision, contrast sensitivity, and distortion improved. We did not encounter any serious adverse events related to the application of subliminal micropulse yellow laser. The subliminal micropulse yellow laser seems to be a therapeutic, effective, and safe option for the treatment of non-inflammatory and resistant cystoid macular edema secondary to retinitis pigmentosa patients. ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT04234438, January 17, 2020.