Purpose: We evaluated the factors affecting visual outcomes in patients with macular edema (ME) associated with central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) who received intravitreal injection of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) drugs.
Subjects and methods: This study included 13 eyes of 13 patients (7 males and 6 females) who received intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF drugs for ME associated with untreated non-ischemic CRVO at the Department of Ophthalmology Ogaki Municipal Hospital between March 2017 and September 2021. The corrected visual acuity, central retinal thickness (CRT), anterior chamber flare values, and implicit time of flicker electroretinogram (ERG) were measured before administering the injection and after 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months of administering the injection. Patients who experienced a decrease in the logarithmic minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) of ≥0.3 and < 0.3 after 12 months of injection were added to the improvement and non-improvement groups, respectively. We evaluated the correlation between corrected visual acuity at 12 months after injection and CRT, anterior chamber flare values, and implicit time before injection. A risk rate of < 5% was considered significant.
Results: Corrected visual acuity at 12 months after injection was significantly associated with the pre-treatment implicit time (r=0.605, p=0.028) and pre-treatment CRT (r=0.635, p=0.020). There was no significant difference in the CRT and anterior chamber flare values at the first visit (p=0.284 and p=0.943, respectively), but there was a significant difference in the implicit time at the first visit (p=0.030) between the two groups.
Conclusion: This study suggested that visual outcomes were poor in patients with prolonged implicit time at the first visit.
Nippon Ganka Gakkai Zasshi (J Jpn Ophthalmol Soc) 127: 797-803,2023.