Ectopic inner foveal layer as post pars plana vitrectomy prognostic predictor in eyes with idiopathic epiretinal membrane.

This study retrospectively analyzed medical records of 354 epiretinal membrane (ERM) eyes of 339 patients with 6-month postoperative follow-up to investigate the correlation between ectopic foveal inner layer (EIFL) and the EIFL-based ERM staging system with the anatomical and functional prognosis post pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) combined with cataract surgery. Our results showed preoperative ERM stage (tau-b = 0.196, P < 0.001), disorganization of the retinal inner layers (DRIL) severity (tau-b = 0.248, P < 0.001), central foveal thickness (CFT) (R = 0.387, P < 0.001) and EIFL thickness (R = 0.315, P < 0.001) were positively correlated with logMAR best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at 6-month follow-up. Preoperative ERM stage (tau-b = 0.285, P < 0.001) and DRIL severity (tau-b = 0.239, P < 0.001) were positively correlated with CFT at 6-month follow-up. No significant correlation was found between ERM staging (P = 0.054) with macular edema (ME) resolution at 6 months. More advanced ERM stage (R = 0.494, P < 0.001) and DRIL severity (R = 0.379, P = 0.005) were significantly correlated with persistent newly onset ME at 6 months. Our findings showed that ERM staging based on EIFL could be a simple and intuitive way to predict the short-term functional and anatomical outcomes post-PPV.