Correlation of foveal photoreceptor integrity with visual outcome in idiopathic epiretinal membrane

摘要

Purpose: To evaluate the correlation of foveal photoreceptor integrity with visual outcome in patients undergoing idiopathic epiretinal membrane (ERM) surgery using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Materials and methods: Forty-three eyes of 43 patients were examined by SD-OCT before and at 1 and 6 months after vitrectomy for idiopathic ERM. Patients were divided into two groups based on the preoperative integrity of photoreceptor inner and outer segment junction (IS/OS)-Group I, intact IS/OS and Group D, disrupted IS/OS. Where present, disrupted length of IS/OS was measured, and the association between disrupted length of IS/OS and foveal thickness with best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was evaluated. Results: There were 27 eyes with an intact IS/OS (Group I) and 16 eyes with a disrupted IS/OS (Group D). Patients in Group I had significantly better postoperative BCVA and greater improvement than those in Group D at 6 months after surgery (p=0.001 and p=0.030, respectively). By 6 months after surgery, the disrupted length of IS/OS observed preoperatively in Group D had decreased significantly (p=0.007). The disrupted length of IS/OS before and at 6 months after the surgery in Group D showed a positive correlation with BCVA (r=0.632 and p=0.009; r=0.658 and p=0.006, respectively). Foveal thickness did not correlate significantly with preoperative and postoperative BCVA. Conclusions: Preoperative disruption of foveal photoreceptors can be restored after ERM surgery. The preoperative integrity of foveal photoreceptors may be a clinically significant prognostic factor for visual recovery in patients with idiopathic ERM.