Abstract
Purpose :
Retinal detachment is a frequent and devastating complication of acute retinal necrosis. Early vitrectomy after diagnosis of acute retinal necrosis has been suggested as a possible method to prevent retinal detachment, but the efficacy of this surgical technique is unproven. We performed a retrospective cohort study to compare the rate of retinal detachment after acute retinal necrosis in eyes that underwent early vitrectomy versus no early vitrectomy.
Methods :
Charts of patients (61 eyes in total) who presented to Texas Retina Associates between 1/1/2006 and 11/25/2015 for acute retinal necrosis were reviewed. Charts with incomplete documentation or follow-up less than 6 months were excluded from the study. One eye which was found to have retinal detachment on diagnosis of acute retinal necrosis was also excluded. The 28 remaining eyes were reviewed and divided into those who underwent early vitrectomy within 30 days of diagnosis, and those who did not receive early vitrectomy for acute retinal necrosis. Data collection included initial and final visual acuity, date of diagnosis, date of vitrectomy, date of diagnosis of retinal detachment, and length of follow-up. The primary outcome measure was the rate of retinal detachment.
Results :
Out of 28 eyes, 12 patients underwent early vitrectomy within 30 days of diagnosis, and 16 patients either underwent vitrectomy after 30 days of diagnosis or did not undergo primary vitrectomy at all. Out of the early vitrectomy group, 3 out of 12 eyes (25%) developed retinal detachment. In the no early vitrectomy group, 9 out of 16 eyes (56%) developed retinal detachment. This difference approached statistical significance (P=0.10).
Conclusions :
Early vitrectomy within 30 days may be an effective technique to prevent retinal detachment after acute retinal necrosis.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.