Article
Anterior chamber aqueous flare as a predictor for proliferative vitreoretinopathy in patients with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment
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Published: | June 15, 2011 |
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Purpose: To investigate preoperative aqueous flare as a predictive factor for proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) re-detachment in patients with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RD).
Methods: Preoperatively, the aqueous flare of 116 consecutive patients with RD was measured quantitatively with a laser flare meter (LFCM) (Kowa FM-500). Seventy four healthy partner eyes and 41 eyes of healthy age-matched patients served as controls. At least six months after surgery, patients were re-evaluated, whether surgery was performed again due to PVR re-detachment.
Results: RD eyes that developed PVR re-detachment later on (n=12) had higher flare values than eyes with uncomplicated RD (n=104) (median 27.63 photon counts/ms (pc/ms) vs. 8.83 pc/ms; p<0.0001). No eye with PVR re-detachment had a flare value below 10.8 pc/ms. In eyes with flare values exceeding 15 pc/ms, the odds of PVR re-detachment development increases 16-fold.
Conclusion: Our study shows that the breakdown of the blood-ocular barrier as determined by aqueous flare is a major risk factor for PVR re-detachment. The LFM is a fast tool that allows predicting the PVR re-detachment risk preoperatively. It provides the surgeon with an estimate to choose those patients that could benefit from intravitreal drugs to prevent PVR.