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Decreased photoreceptor inner segment/outer segment junction reflectivity in patients with idiopathic epimacular
I Toprak1, V Yaylalı2, C Yildirim2
1Department of Ophthalmology, Servergazi State Hospital, Denizli, Turkey.
Purpose:
To assess the effects of idiopathic epimacular membrane (IEMM) on retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), photoreceptor inner segment/outer segment (IS/OS) junction, and external limiting membrane (ELM) reflectivities to determine functional alterations in these layers using optical coherence tomography (OCT) image analysis.
Methods:
Fifty eyes of 50 patients with untreated IEMM and 41 eyes of 41 age- and sex-matched healthy controls with normal OCT scans were retrospectively reviewed. A single masked physician analyzed OCT images randomly. Reflectivity values of RPE, IS/OS junction, and ELM were obtained using 'plot profile' mode of a medical image processing computer software.
Results:
The study comprised 50 patients with untreated IEMM and age- and sex-matched 41 control subjects (P > 0.05). Image analysis demonstrated that IS/OS junction and ELM had significantly lower reflectivity in patients with IEMM compared with those of the control eyes (P = 0.008, P = 0.009, respectively). However, RPE reflectivity did not differ between two groups (P = 0.100). Correlation analyses showed no significant associations between reflectivity values and corrected visual acuity (P > 0.05).
Conclusion:
In patients with IEMM, photoreceptor IS/OS junction and ELM seem to have lower reflectivity, which might indicate impaired functionality even though these layers are not apparently damaged on OCT imaging.
