title: INNER NUCLEAR LAYER THICKNESS AS A PROGNOSTIC FACTOR FOR METAMORPHOPSIA AFTER EPIRETINAL MEMBRANE SURGERY.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate prognostic factors for metamorphopsia in patients undergoing vitrectomy for epiretinal membrane using spectral domain optical coherence tomography.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study included 53 eyes of 53 patients undergoing vitrectomy for idiopathic epiretinal membrane. The authors examined visual acuity, severity of metamorphopsia with M-CHARTS, and retinal microstructures with spectral domain optical coherence tomography before surgery and 3 months and 6 months after surgery. Central foveal thickness, parafoveal retinal thickness, macular volume, thickness of the ganglion cell layer, inner nuclear layer, and outer retinal layer (ONL + OPL: outer nuclear layer and outer plexiform layer) were analyzed using an image processing program. The status of the outer retinal lines was also evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Preoperative metamorphopsia score (M-score) significantly correlated with central foveal thickness, inner nuclear layer thickness, and ONL + OPL thickness. Postoperative M-score significantly correlated with postoperative central foveal thickness and inner nuclear layer thickness. Inner nuclear layer thickness had significant correlation with M-score at each time point by multiple regression analysis, whereas other parameters were not relevant. Multiple regression analysis showed that preoperative inner nuclear layer thickness yielded the highest regression coefficient with postoperative M-score.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Inner nuclear layer thickness was found to be a good indicator of metamorphopsia both before and after surgery and a predictor of postoperative metamorphopsia in patients with epiretinal membrane.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan.
authors.forename: Fumiki
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Okamoto
authors.forename: Yoshimi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sugiura
authors.forename: Yoshifumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Okamoto
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hiraoka
authors.forename: Tetsuro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oshika
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D019773:Epiretinal Membrane / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011379:Prognosis; D055351:Retinal Neurons / Q000473:pathology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D014792:Visual Acuity; D014821:Vitrectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*