Longitudinal electroretinogram study in a patient with metallosis oculi.

Serial electroretinograms were obtained from a patient with visual loss secondary to an intraocular metallic foreign body. Six days after the injury, the acute-phase electroretinogram was larger in the affected left eye. During the following months, the electroretinogram amplitude declined steadily in the affected eye to values well below normal. At 9 months, electroretinogram amplitudes were approximately 50% compared with those in the normal eye. Clinical signs confirmed the need for surgery, and the foreign body was removed. Visual acuity in both eyes remained essentially normal, and electroretinogram amplitudes stabilized over subsequent months. Approximately 8 months after surgery, dark-adaptometry testing showed a 1-log unit elevation of absolute threshold in the affected eye, and Rmax in the affected eye was 42% of that in the uninjured eye.