Frequency of cystoid macular edema and vitreomacular interface disorders in genetically solved syndromic and non-syndromic retinitis pigmentosa.

purposeRetinitis pigmentosa (RP) corresponds to a group of inherited retinal disorders where progressive rod-cone degeneration is observed. Cystoid macular edema (CME) and vitreomacular interface disorders (VMID) are known to complicate the RP phenotype, challenging an age-old concept of retained central visual acuity. The reported prevalence of these changes varies greatly among different studies. We aim to describe the frequency of CME and VMID and identify predictors of these changes in a cohort of Caucasian patients with genetically solved syndromic (sRP) and non-syndromic RP (nsRP).

methodsCross-sectional study of patients with genetically solved sRP or nsRP. Genetic testing was clinically oriented in all probands and coordinated by a medical geneticist. The presence/absence of CME and VMIDs such as epiretinal membrane (ERM), vitreomacular traction (VMT), lamellar hole (LH), macular hole (MH), and macular pseudohole (MPH), and the integrity of the neurosensory retina and retinal pigment epithelium were evaluated in individual macular SD-OCT b-scans. Mixed-effects regression analysis models were used to identify significant predictors of BCVA, CME, and VMID. Significance was considered at α < 0.05.

resultsWe included 250 eyes from 125 patients. Mean age was 44.9 ± 15.7 years and 55.2% were male. Eighty-eight patients had nsRP and 37 had sRP. Median BCVA was 0.5 (0.2-1.3) logMAR. CME was found in 17.1% of eyes, while ERM was found in 54.3% of eyes. The frequency of CME (p = 0.45) and ERM (p = 0.07) did not differ between sRP and nsRP patients, nor across different inheritance patterns. Mixed-effects univariate linear regression identified age (p = 0.04), cataract surgery (p < 0.01), and loss of integrity of outer retinal layers (p < 0.01) as significant predictors of lower visual acuity, while increased foveal thickness (p < 0.01) and the presence of CME (p = 0.04) were predictors of higher visual acuity. On mixed-effects multivariable analysis, only increased foveal thickness was significantly associated with better visual acuity (p < 0.01).

conclusionWe found that the burden of ERM and CME in RP patients is high, highlighting the importance of screening for these potentially treatable conditions to improve the quality of life of RP patients.