Ellipsoid Zone Defects in Retinal Vein Occlusion Correlates With Visual Acuity Prognosis: SCORE2 Report 14.

Purpose: To evaluate the association between ellipsoid zone (EZ) on spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and visual acuity letter score (VALS) in participants with retinal vein occlusion in the Study of Comparative Treatments for Retinal Vein Occlusion 2.

Methods: SD-OCT scans of 362 participants were qualitatively assessed at baseline and months 1, 6, 12, and 24 for EZ status as normal, patchy, or absent. The thickness of EZ layer in the central subfield was also obtained using machine learning.

Results: EZ assessments were not possible at baseline due to signal blockage in >75% of eyes. At month 1, EZ was normal in 37.6%, patchy in 48.1%, and absent in 14.3%. EZ was measurable in 48.7% with a mean area of 0.07 ± 0.16 mm2. Mean VALS was better in eyes without an EZ defect compared to eyes with an EZ defect (P < 0.0001 at all visits). EZ defect at month 1 was associated with poorer VALS at all follow-up visits (P < 0.0001).

Conclusions: Both qualitative and quantitative assessments of EZ status strongly correlated with VALS. Absence of EZ was associated with poorer VALS at both corresponding and future visits, with larger areas of EZ loss associated with worse VALS.

Translational Relevance: Assessment of EZ can be used to identify patients with potentially poor response in eyes with retinal vein occlusion.