Abstract
Purpose :
Children with reduced vision often undergo electroretinogram (ERG) as a diagnostic tool, but its feasibility is limited in toddlers. The ERG can also become nonrecordable early in many conditions, decreasing utility for follow-up monitoring. Flash visual evoked potentials (FVEP) can provide an alternative, being measured at the occipital cortex and therefore easier to obtain in children. Although traditionally not considered quantitative, FVEP is driven by the central retina, crucial for visual acuity, and may be more robust than ERG in low retinal signal conditions due to neurologic signal amplification. This study aims to to acess the corrrelation between Flash Visual Evoked Potentials with Visual Acuity and Goldmann Visual Fields in Pediatric Patients with Inherited Retinal Disorders.
Methods :
Retrospective chart review of 88 patients who underwent both ERG and FVEP from 3/1/2010 to 5/13/2019 was performed. Data included clinical and molecular diagnoses, amplitudes, and latencies from ERG and FVEP, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and Goldmann visual fields (GVF).
Results :
A strong correlation was found between FVEP amplitude and logMAR visual acuity (r = -0.39, p = 0.0001), with significantly lower FVEP amplitudes with logMAR worse than 1.0 (20/200 by Snellen) (p = 0.001). Strongest correlations were found with FVEP P120 amplitudes and 3.0 light-adapted recordable ERGs. FVEP amplitudes were significantly higher in patients perceiving smaller GVF targets (I1e) compared to only larger targets (III4e, V4e) (p = 0.0004).
Conclusions :
FVEP correlates with visual acuity, GVF, and light-adapted ERG, suggesting its quantitative value for assessing vision. FVEP can be a viable alternative for monitoring vision and retinal degeneration in young children who cannot undergo or who have nonrecordable ERG, making it valuable in gene therapy trials for inherited retinal diseases.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.