Role of multifocal electroretinography in the diagnosis of XXXX .

@entity1 @entity937
PURPOSE: To analyze the preoperative results of multifocal electroretinography (mfERG) in the fellow eyes of @entity1 with idiopathic unilateral macular hole and to evaluate the usefulness of this method in predicting the likelihood of macular hole formation in the fellow eye. METHODS: Over a period of 5 years, 80 eyes of 40 @entity1 (mean age, 64.9 years) with unilateral @entity937 were examined. The diagnosis of @entity937 was confirmed by optical coherence tomography (OCT). The fellow eyes were intact in all cases. All @entity1 underwent vitreoretinal surgery. Before the surgery, both eyes of the @entity1 were examined by mfERG. During the follow-up period, the 40 fellow eyes were also observed by OCT, and the changes in the vitreofoveal attachment were investigated. The preoperative response densities and ring ratios of mfERG were analyzed in both eyes, and discriminant analysis was used to calculate the best separator function. RESULTS: Preoperative mfERGs demonstrated significantly lower mean response densities in the central area of the 40 eyes with macular hole than in the fellow eyes. During the follow-up period, macular hole was diagnosed in 13 fellow eyes by OCT. The preoperative values of the mfERGs in these eyes were significantly lower than in the other 27 cases. The mfERG ring ratios were significantly lower in the fellow eyes in which macular holes developed than in those that remained intact. CONCLUSIONS: The analysis of ERG in the fellow eyes of @entity1 with macular hole seems clinically useful. The lower amplitude may forecast the propensity for subsequent development of a macular hole. @entity1 with low central ERG amplitude and lower ring ratios in the healthy fellow eyes should have stricter follow-up.
