Abstract
Purpose :
Color contrast threshold testing is not typically explored in the clinical setting to test for worsening visual health. We developed a novel approach to test color contrast threshold testing to evaluate subtle color vision deficits. This feasibility study utilized a retrospective chart review from a clinical retina practice where color contrast threshold testing results from patients with and without macular edema were compared.
Methods :
Color contrast threshold testing was performed on all patients. Patients with Snellen visual acuity less than 20/70 were excluded. Patients with retinal vascular disease were divided into two cohorts: patients with macular edema and without macular edema. Macular edema was based on clinical findings including cystic changes on OCT testing and clinical evaluation which was documented on patients’ charts from that visit. In this study, macular edema was either from diabetic retinopathy, central retinal vein occlusion, or branch retinal vein occlusion. Additional data collection included age, gender, lens status, OCT central macular thickness (Heidelberg Spectralis), and results were compared to age matched controls. T-tests with bonferroni corrections were used to test for significance in quantitative variables.
Results :
108 eyes from 54 patients were identified and included in this study. 3 eyes from 2 patients were excluded for not meeting visual acuity requirements, and 20 eyes from 10 patients were excluded for having incomplete data sets. Across all colors, average color vision threshold values were significantly greater in patients with macular edema as compared to patients without (1420.60 vs. 669.05) (52.90%). Green showed the highest difference (202 vs. 92) (80.77%), while red showed the least difference (360 vs. 197) (45.28%).
Conclusions :
This study showed the feasibility of our diagnostic tool to evaluate worsening acuity in patients with relatively healthy vision measurements and coexisting macular edema. Our examination detected worsening color vision, while Snellen visual acuity and OCT thickness measurements remained relatively equal between the two cohorts. Further work is required to define the application of this new technology across various ophthalmic conditions.
This is a 2021 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.