Long-term risk factors for poor visual outcomes in patients with epiretinal membrane and open-angle glaucoma: a retrospective study

Abstract

We aimed to identify prognostic risk factors for visual deterioration in eyes with epiretinal membrane (ERM) and open-angle glaucoma (OAG) through long-term follow-up. In this retrospective observational case series, we examined consecutive eyes with ERM and OAG over a minimum follow-up of 2 years. Visual outcomes and prognostic factors were analyzed in patients’ eyes undergoing ERM peeling with pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) (peeling group) and only observation (observation group). Eyes followed for less than 2 years after PPV were excluded. Among 100 eyes from 84 patients, 31 and 69 eyes were classified into peeling and observation groups, respectively. Over the follow-up period, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in the observation group worsened from 0.03 ± 0.19 to 0.14 ± 0.33 ( P = 0.0003), whereas that in the peeling group remained stable. Multivariate analysis revealed microcystic macular edema (MME) (odds ratio: 4.97; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.52 to 16.2; P = 0.008) and thin central foveal thickness (CFT) (odds ratio: 0.99; 95% CI: 0.98 to 1.00; P = 0.033) as risk factors for visual acuity decay. The presence of MME and thin CFT were risk factors for long-term visual deterioration in eyes with ERM and concomitant OAG. Vitrectomy with ERM peeling for eyes with OAG may be considered to preserve BCVA. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-024-80020-1.