Male sex, erythema nodosum, and electroretinography as predictors of visual prognosis after cataract surgery in patients with Behçet disease.

PURPOSE: To evaluate factors that predict the visual prognosis after cataract surgery in patients with Behçet disease.

SETTING

The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.

DESIGN

Retrospective clinical study.

METHODS

Patients with Behçet disease and complicated cataract had phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation between September 2008 and March 2011. Analyzed were the corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), full-field electroretinogram (ERG) results, intraocular inflammation, extraocular manifestations, and complications before and after surgery.

RESULTS

Twenty-one men (26 eyes) and 6 women (10 eyes) Behçet disease patients with complicated cataract were enrolled. There were no postoperative complications, although a mild to moderate anterior chamber reaction occurred in all patients. At the last visit, the CDVA was improved in 35 eyes. Twenty-seven eyes (75%) achieved a final CDVA of 0.1 or better. No female patient had obvious fundus complications, and all female patients achieved a final CDVA of 0.25 or better. The common causes for poor visual prognosis were optic atrophy, atrophy of the retina, and cystoid macular edema. Eyes with marked ERG a-wave and b-wave abnormalities had a significantly worse postoperative CDVA. Seven (10 eyes) of 8 patients (11 eyes) with a history of erythema nodosum had a postoperative visual acuity below 0.1.

CONCLUSIONS

Phacoemulsification and IOL implantation in patients with Behçet disease can be safely and successfully performed in quiet eyes. A poor visual prognosis was associated with male sex, severe fundus complications, and erythema nodosum and could be predicted by ERG abnormalities.

FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: No author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned.