Abstract
Purpose :
To evaluate the effects of intravitreal ranibizumab injection (IVR) on metamorphopsia in patients with branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO), and to assess the prognostic factor of metamorphopsia. This is retrospective, observational study.
Methods :
Thirty-three eyes of 33 patients with macular edema caused by BRVO who were followed up for at least 12 months after initial treatment. There were 15 males and 18 females, averaging 67.2 ± 9.3 years of age (mean ± SD). All patients were treatment naïve. The severity of metamorphopsia was quantified using the M-CHARTS and retinal microstructure was assessed with optical coherence tomography (OCT) before and from 1 to 12 months after treatment. Based on OCT images, we assessed disorganization of the retinal inner layers (DRIL) at the first month after resolution of the macular edema (early DRIL) and at 12 months after treatment (after DRIL). We also evaluated central retinal thickness (CRT), presence of serous retinal detachment, and status of the external limiting membrane (ELM) and ellipsoid zone (EZ).
Results :
IVR treatment significantly improved best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and CRT (P < 0.0001, P < 0.0001, respectively), but the mean metamorphopsia score did not improve by treatment even after 12 months. Post-treatment metamorphopsia scores showed a significant correlation with pre-treatment metamorphopsia scores (P < 0.005), the extent of early DRIL (P < 0.05) and after DRIL (P < 0.05), and the number of injections (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that the absolute value of the post-treatment mean metamorphopsia score was significantly correlated with the pre-treatment mean metamorphopsia score (P < 0.05).
Conclusions :
In patients with BRVO, IVR treatment significantly improved BCVA and CRT, but not metamorphopsia. The severity of post-treatment metamorphopsia was significantly associated with the degree of pre-treatment metamorphopsia, the extent of DRIL and the number of injections. Prognostic factor of metamorphopsia was the degree of pre-treatment metamorphopsia.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.