Association between disorganization of retinal inner layers and visual acuity after proliferative diabetic retinopathy surgery

Sci Rep. 2019 Aug 22;9(1):12230. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-48679-z.

Abstract

We report to evaluate if disorganization of the retinal inner layers (DRIL) obtained by swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) predicts the postoperative best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) to treat proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). Twenty-one eyes of 21 patients who underwent vitrectomy for PDR were studied retrospectively. BCVA and SS-OCT images were obtained until 6 months postoperatively. The associations between BCVA and SS-OCT parameters measured in a 1-mm central foveal area were evaluated. The DRIL length, external limiting membrane disruption, and ellipsoid zone (EZ) disruption 1 month postoperatively were associated positively with the postoperative logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) BCVA at 1, 3, and 6 months (1 month, p = 0.009, p = 0.013, p = 0.001; 3 months, p = 0.03, p = 0.021, p = 0.002; and 6 months, p = 0.021, p = 0.013, and p = 0.005, respectively). The eyes with a 500-µm or longer DRIL 1 month postoperatively (19%, 4/21 eyes) had significantly worse VA at 1, 3, and 6 months postoperatively (p = 0.007, p = 0.008, and p = 0.020, respectively). Multilinear regression analysis of all visits until 6 months postoperatively showed that the DRIL was correlated more significantly (p = 0.0004) with logMAR BCVA than the disrupted EZ length. The DRIL in the early postoperative period may predict the visual outcomes after treating PDR.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Diabetic Retinopathy / diagnostic imaging
  • Diabetic Retinopathy / physiopathology*
  • Diabetic Retinopathy / surgery
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Retina / diagnostic imaging
  • Retina / physiopathology*
  • Retina / surgery
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Tomography, Optical Coherence
  • Visual Acuity
  • Vitrectomy