CORRELATION BETWEEN CENTRAL FOVEAL THICKNESS AND VISUAL ACUITY IN PATIENTS WITH IDIOPATHIC VITREOMACULAR TRACTION.

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of preoperative central foveal thickness (CFT) on visual acuity after surgery in patients with idiopathic vitreomacular traction and to calculate a cut-off value in preoperative CFT.

Methods: Thirty-five patients with idiopathic vitreomacular traction were evaluated retrospectively. A complete ophthalmological examination including spectral domain optical coherence tomography was performed preoperatively and at 12 months after the surgery. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to determine the critical point for the CFT associated with improvement of 10 or more letters in visual acuity on the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study.

Results: Among 35 patients, the mean CFT at postoperative 12 months was significantly decreased from baseline (P = 0.001). Preoperative CFT and visual improvement were not significantly correlated (r = -0.090, P = 0.605), whereas preoperative CFT and preoperative visual acuity were significantly correlated (r = 0.757, P < 0.001). Improvement in CFT and visual improvement were also correlated significantly (r = 0.449, P = 0.007). According to the receiver operating characteristic analysis, the threshold CFT was 471 μm. When 15 patients with CFT thickness under 471 μm were evaluated, preoperative CFT was significantly correlated with improvement in visual acuity after the surgery (r = 0.561, P = 0.030).

Conclusion: Preoperative CFT is important for the visual prognosis of patients with vitreomacular traction. Preoperative CFT of these patients should be considered in surgical decisions.