Abstract
Purpose:
To assess the frequency of negative waveform electroretinograms (ERGs) complaining night blindness in a tertiary referral center for Turkish Armed Forces
Methods:
Retrospective chart review of all patients who had an ERG performed for differential diagnosis of night blindness at the electrophysiology clinic at GATA Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey, from January 2003 through December 2012, were included in the study. Patients with b-wave amplitude ≤ a-wave amplitude during the dark-adapted bright flash recording, in at least one eye, were identified as having a “negative ERG”. Clinical information, such as age, symptoms, best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and diagnoses were recorded for these patients when available.
Results:
A total of 2495 male patients underwent ERG testing during the last decade Age ranged from 15 to 40 years. All were man. BCVA ranged from 0.1 to 0.0.Of those, 102 patients had a negative ERG, for a frequency of .4%. Of those patients, the most common diagnoses associated with a negative ERG were congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB, n = 93) in 91.%, X-linked retinoschisis (XLRS, n = 7).in 6.8%, high myopia (15 dpt) in 1%, and muscular dystrophies in 1%.
Conclusions:
The overall frequency of negative ERGs in this retrospective review was 4.%.CSNB appear to be the most likely diagnoses among male military personnel who had a negative ERG
Keywords: 509 electroretinography: clinical •
648 photoreceptors •
696 retinal degenerations: hereditary