Relationship between Optical Coherence Tomography Retinal Parameters and Visual Acuity in Diabetic Macular Edema

PurposeTo investigate the relationship between optical coherence tomography (OCT)-derived measurements of retinal morphology and visual acuity in patients with diabetic macular edema.DesignRetrospective cross-sectional study.ParticipantsA total of 67 consecutive patients (67 eyes) with diabetic macular edema (DME) who underwent Stratus OCT imaging (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc., Dublin, CA).MethodsBest-corrected Snellen visual acuity was recorded for each patient. Raw exported Stratus OCT images for each patient were analyzed using custom software entitled “OCTOR,” which allows the precise positioning of prespecified boundaries on individual B-scans. Thickness, volume, and intensity were calculated for neurosensory retina and subretinal fluid. In addition, photoreceptor outer segment (POS) thickness was quantified.Main Outcome MeasuresOptical coherence tomography-derived measurements of retinal morphology and visual acuity.ResultsThe Spearman coefficient values (r) of the correlation between OCTOR-derived measurements of central subfield thickness, intensity, subretinal fluid volume, and POS thickness and the logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution visual acuities were 0.3428 (P = 0.005), −0.2658 (P = 0.03), −0.2683 (P = 0.38), and −0.3703 (P = 0.002), respectively. Multivariate models with stepwise selection revealed a cumulative R2 of 0.4305 in the total study population, with R2 of 0.4999 and 0.7628 in the untreated and prior focal laser groups, respectively.ConclusionsSubanalysis and quantification of OCT features in eyes with DME seem to be of value. In particular, POS thickness seems to be an important predictor of function and visual acuity in patients with DME.Financial Disclosure(s)Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found after the references.