Foveal sensitivity and visual acuity in macular thickening disorders.

Purpose: To study the relationship between foveal sensitivity and visual acuity in eyes with macular disorders exhibiting macular thickening.

Methods: We studied the relationship between foveal sensitivity, obtained as the "foveal threshold" by use of Humphrey perimetry, and best-corrected visual acuity, converted to the logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR), for 117 eyes with epiretinal membrane (ERM), 197 eyes with retinal vein occlusion associated with macular edema (RVOME), and 158 eyes with central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC).

Results: Foveal sensitivity and logMAR correlated significantly for the eyes with ERM, RVOME, and CSC. Although mean foveal sensitivity was no different among the three diseases, mean logMAR was lower in eyes with CSC, i.e., visual acuity was better, than in those with ERM or RVOME (P < 0.001).

Conclusions: Light sense (foveal sensitivity) is related to spatial resolution (logMAR) at the center of the fovea, in eyes with ERM, RVOME, and CSC at different strengths depending on the disease. Less pronounced reduction of visual acuity compared with foveal sensitivity in eyes with CSC could explain the tendency of these patients to complain of dimness rather than acuity loss.