Association of Disorganization of Retinal Inner Layers with Ischemic Index and Visual Acuity in Central Retinal Vein...

To determine whether disorganization of retinal inner layers (DRIL) on optical coherence tomography (OCT) is associated with ischemia on ultra-widefield fluorescein angiography (UWFFA) and with visual outcomes in eyes with acute, treatment-naïve central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO).

Retrospective, single-institution, longitudinal cohort study.

Twenty-five consecutive patients with treatment-naïve CRVO and ≥ 1 year follow-up.

Two independent masked graders evaluated the extent of DRIL, ellipsoid zone disruption, external limiting membrane disruption, and other OCT parameters at the baseline, 6- month, 12-month, and final visits. Baseline UWFFA images were assessed for ischemic index values and foveal avascular zone (FAZ) enlargement.

Associations of DRIL with UWFFA findings and clinical outcomes including corrected visual acuity (VA).

The median time to final follow-up was 24 months (range 12.1 - 43.9 months). Median DRIL extent at baseline was 765 µm (range 0 - 1000 µm). Eighteen of 25 eyes (72%) had some degree of DRIL at baseline, and 20 of 25 eyes (80%) had cystoid macular edema (CME). Neither the presence nor extent of DRIL at baseline was associated with presenting VA. In a cross-sectional analysis of each visit, extent of DRIL correlated with worse VA at both the 6-month (ρ = 0.656; p = 0.001) and final (ρ = 0.509; p = 0.016) visits. At final follow-up, DRIL extent was the OCT parameter most strongly correlated with baseline ischemic index (ρ = 0.418; p = 0.047) and baseline enlarged FAZ (p = 0.057) on UWFFA. On multivariate regression analysis, DRIL extent at final follow-up was the only OCT parameter associated with worse VA (p = 0.013) and remained significant when accounting for CME as a potential confounder.

Extent of DRIL was not associated with presenting VA in treatment-naïve eyes with acute CRVO. Following six months of follow-up however, DRIL extent correlated with worse VA and was predictive of worse VA throughout more than 2 years of follow-up. Ischemic features on UWFFA at baseline are predictive of the extent of DRIL development at final follow-up.