Correlation between visual acuity changes and optical coherence tomography morphological findings in idiopathic epiretinal membranes

Abstract

Purpose: To analyze the influence of spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) features on visual acuity changes in patients with idiopathic epiretinal membranes (ERMs).

Methods: Seventy-nine eyes of 71 patients were included in this study. SD-OCT was performed for all patients; data were collected upon ERM diagnosis and at the final visit. The patients were divided into subgroups based on their SD-OCT features. The initial best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and changes in BCVA for each subgroup were compared. A multivariate analysis was performed to assess the factors associated with changes in BCVA.

Results: During a mean follow-up period of 20.78 months, the mean change in logMAR visual acuity was 0.052 ± 0.089. Eyes with inner segment/outer segment (IS/OS) junction disruption and cystoid macular edema (CME) had a significantly lower mean initial BCVA than those without disruption and CME (P = 0.036 and P = 0.012, respectively). However, only eyes with CME had significant changes in BCVA (P = .034). Multivariate analysis revealed the presence of CME as the only factor that had a significant correlation with VA changes.

Conclusions: In patients with idiopathic ERMs, the presence of CME and IS/OS disruption detected by OCT correlated with a poorer initial BCVA. Most patients' visual acuity remained stable during follow-up. The presence of CME with OCT represented a predictor of the progression of visual acuity. These results may provide valuable clinical information regarding the management of patients with idiopathic ERMs. We demonstrated that the presence of CME and IS/OS disruption detected with OCT correlated with a poorer BCVA in idiopathic ERMs. The visual acuity of most patients was stable during the follow-up period. The presence of CME in OCT represented a predictor of vision deterioration for patients with idiopathic ERMs.

Keywords: Cystoid macular edema; Idiopathic epiretinal membrane; Optical coherent tomography.