2Uz. Dr., Toros Devlet Hastanesi, Göz Hastalıkları Kliniği, Mersin
3Uz. Dr., Mersin Devlet Hastanesi, Göz Hastalıkları Kliniği, Mersin
4Doç. Dr., Mersin Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Biyoistatistik Ana Bilim Dalı, Mersin
5Prof. Dr., Mersin Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Göz Hastalıkları Ana Bilim Dalı, Mersin Purpose: To investigate the relationship between optical coherence tomography (OCT) signal strength and visual acuity in cataract patients and evaluate the effect of cataract on OCT measurements.
Materials and Methods: Twenty-one eyes of 18 patients with cataract were included in the study. Patients with other associated ocular pathology were excluded. After ophthalmologic examination, mydriasis was induced with 0.5% tropicamide and OCT images were acquired. The same assessment was conducted at 1 month after cataract surgery and obtained values were compared with baseline.
Results: Mean best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of the study group was 0.15 ± 0.10 preoperatively and 0.84 ± 0.07 postoperatively and the difference was statistically signifi cant (p<0.001). There was a signifi cant positive correlation between preoperative BCVA and OCT signal strength (p<0.001). Similarly, signifi cant positive correlations were observed between preoperative signal strength and central retinal thickness (CRT), macular volume (MV), and peripapillary nerve fi ber thickness (PNFT) (p<0.001, p<0.001, p=0.005, respectively). In addition, CRT, MV, PNFT, and signal strength increased signifi cantly postoperatively (p<0.001 for all). However, OCT signal strength was not correlated with postoperative BCVA, CRT, MV, or PNFT (p=0.85, p=0.99, p=0.89, and p=0.1, respectively).
Discussion: OCT signal strength can provide objective data such as visual acuity in patients planned for cataract surgery. However, the presence of cataract may seriously impact the accuracy of values obtained by OCT.
Keywords : Cataract, optical coherence tomography, signal strength, visual acuity