Atrophy of retinal inner layers is associated with poor vision after endophthalmitis: a spectral domain optical coherence tomography study

Purpose To investigate the retinal structural changes in endophthalmitis and their association with visual outcome. Patients and methods Forty-five eyes of 45 patients diagnosed with endophthalmitis were included. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) was performed after inflammation was controlled. The relationship between SD-OCT features and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at the last follow-up was analyzed. Results The structural changes included inner segment ellipsoid (ISe) disruption (49%), atrophy of retinal inner layers (24%), epimacular membrane (24%), and macular edema (24%). BCVA was worse in patients with ISe disruption ( P =0.005) and retinal inner layers' atrophy ( P =0.004) compared with those without. There was no significant difference of BCVA between the patients with and without epimacular membrane, or intraretinal cysts. Multivariate regression showed that atrophy of retinal inner layers ( b =0.41±0.17, P =0.022) was the only independent factor associated with BCVA. Conclusion Atrophy of retinal inner layers is associated with visual impairment in endophthalmitis, despite successful management.