Abstract
Purpose:
To evaluate prognostic factors for metamorphopsia in patients undergoing vitrectomy for epiretinal membrane (ERM) using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT).
Methods:
This study included 53 eyes of 53 patients undergoing vitrectomy for idiopathic ERM. We examined visual acuity, severity of metamorphopsia with M-CHARTS, and retinal microstructures with SD-OCT before surgery and 3 and 6 months after surgery. Central foveal thickness (CFT), parafoveal retinal thickness, macular volume, thickness of the ganglion cell layer (GCL), inner nuclear layer (INL) and outer retinal layer (ONL+OPL: outer nuclear layer and outer plexiform layer) were analyzed using an image-processing program. The status of the outer retinal lines were also evaluated.
Results:
Preoperative metamorphopsia score (M-score) significantly correlated with CFT, INL thickness and ONL+OPL thickness. Postoperative M-score significantly correlated with postoperative CFT and INL thickness. INL thickness had significant correlation with M-score at each time point by multiple regression analysis, whereas other parameters were not relevant. Multiple regression analysis showed that preoperative INL thickness yielded the highest regression coefficient with postoperative M-score.
Conclusions:
INL thickness was found to be a good indicator of metamorphopsia both before and after surgery, and a predictor of postoperative metamorphopsia in patients with ERM.