The Impact of Macular Edema on Visual Function in Intermediate, Posterior, and Panuveitis

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of macular edema on visual acuity and visual field sensitivity in uveitis.Design: This study utilized baseline data from the Multicenter Uveitis Steroid Treatment (MUST) Trial, a randomized, parallel treatment clinical trial comparing alternative treatments for intermediate, posterior and panuveitis.Patients & Methods: 255 patients (481 eyes with uveitis) recruited at 23 subspecialty centers. Visual acuity, optical coherence tomography and Humphrey 24-2 visual field testing.Results: Macular edema was associated with impaired visual acuity (p < 0.01). Different phenotypes of macular edema were associated with different degrees of visual impairment: cystoid changes without retinal thickening were associated with moderately impaired visual acuity (–5 ETDRS letters), but visual acuity was worse in eyes with retinal thickening (–13 letters) and with both cysts and thickening (–19 letters). Uveitis sufficient to satisfy the study’s inclusion criteria was associated with impaired ...