Association Between Retinal Artery Angle and Visual Function in Eyes With Idiopathic Epiretinal Membrane

PURPOSE: This study investigated the relationship between retinal artery angle and visual function in eyes with idiopathic epiretinal membrane (ERM). METHODS: Ultra-wide field fundus imaging was conducted to analyze ERM and normal contralateral eyes. In addition to the logMAR visual acuity (VA) measurement, the average of the vertical and horizontal metamorphopsia scores (Mave) was measured using m-Charts for each eye. We calculated the retinal artery angle (Yugami correlated angle [YCA]) in all the examined eyes using ImageJ software. The YCAs were then compared between the ERM and normal contralateral eyes. Additionally, the relationship between YCA and visual function was investigated in the ERM eyes. RESULTS: Data from 40 patients with ERM were analyzed. The mean age of the participants was 67.1 ± 8.1 years. The YCA was significantly smaller in the ERM eyes, compared with the contralateral eyes (P < 0.001, respectively; Wilcoxon signed rank test). Among age, axial length, YCAs, central retinal thickness (CRT), and central choroidal thickness (CCT), the optimal model for logMAR VA included age, YCA, and CRT. On the other hand, the optimal model for Mave included YCA and CCT. CONCLUSIONS: The retinal artery angle may be useful for predicting visual function in eyes with ERM. TRANSLATIONAL RELEVANCE: Our established quantitative measurements in fundus photography have potential clinical use in predicting visual function in ERM.