Abstract
Purpose :
To investigate whether the visual outcomes associated with Disorganization of Retinal Inner Layers (DRIL) in patients with center involved diabetic macular edema (ci-DME) can be partly explained by the presence of diabetic macular ischemia (DMI).
Methods :
Cross sectional study in which Snellen visual acuity (VA) testing, optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) and spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT) macular imaging were performed. The Central retinal thickness (CST), presence of ellipsoid zone (EZ) disruption, extent of disorganisation of the retinal inner layers (DRIL), foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area in the superficial and deep capillary plexuses were measured. Regression models were used to evaluate the relationship between the measured variables and visual acuity.
Results :
Sixty five eyes of 40 participants with ci-DME were included. The association of VA with SDOCT and OCTA variables was dependent upon DRIL severity. In eyes with DRIL involving more than 50% of the horizontal scan, VA was associated with the total DRIL length, degree of DMI in the superficial capillary plexus, and EZ disruption (Rho [95% CI], 0.65 [0.37, 0.80], 0.61 [0.52, 0.82], and 0.52 [0.23, 0.75], respectively). No association was detected between CST and VA (Rho [95% CI]: -0.02 [-0.3, 0.3]).
Conclusions :
The extent of DRIL, presence of EZ disruption and degree of DMI were found to correlate with poor visual outcomes in eyes with ci-DME. Future studies are needed to explore the relationship between these biomarkers.
This is a 2020 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.