Feasibility of the Radner reading chards in low vision patients

Background: Being unable to read is a major problem for visually impaired patients. Since distance visual acuity (VA) does not adequately reflect reading ability, it is important to also evaluate near VA. The Radner Reading Charts (RRCs) are available to measure patients' reading performance. The present study tested the inter-chart and test-retest reliability of the RRCs in Dutch low-vision patients (i.e., visual acuity ≥0.3 logMAR) with various eye disorders. Methods: Thirty-eight patients read the three RRCs in random order. Then, about 1 month after the initial measurements, a test-retest procedure was performed in 15 of the 38 patients. Tested variables were reading acuity (logRAD), logRAD score, logRAD/logMAR ratio, maximum reading speed (MRS), and critical print size (CPS). Both MRS and CPS were calculated in two different ways. To determine the variability, a mixed-model analysis was used. Results: For all variables, the largest part of the variance was explained by the individual subject (86-89%) whereas the chart accounted for only 0-0.78% of the variability. Therefore, the inter-chart and test-retest reliability was high, except for the CPS which had a poor to moderate reliability (31-62%) when calculated in the two different ways. Conclusions: The inter-chart and test-retest results showed high reliability in patients with low vision due to various diseases; therefore, the charts are feasible to determine effects in large groups. © 2010 Springer-Verlag

Incorrect use and presentation of the RADNER Reading Charts: comment on measurement of reading speed with standardized texts: a comparison of single sentences and paragraphs, by Altpeter E, Marx T, Nguyen N, Naumann A, Trauzettel-Klosinski S

Ophthalmic researc

Improvement of horizontal macular contraction after surgical removal of epiretinal membranes

PurposeTo determine whether horizontal macular contraction caused by epiretinal membranes (ERMs) improves after surgical removal.MethodsIn this prospective, single-center, observational study, 63 consecutive patients with unilateral idiopathic ERM in one eye and no retinal disease in the fellow eye underwent pars plana vitrectomy. Fundus photography and optical coherence tomography (OCT) were performed preoperatively and at 3 months postoperatively. The area enclosed by superior and inferior major vessels from the optic disc to the fovea (area under major vessel (AUV)) and the macroscopic diverging angle (MDA) between superior and inferior major vessels were calculated using digital image analysis of fundus photographs and compared pre- and postoperatively. ResultsAUV was significantly smaller in the eyes with ERM compared with the normal fellow eyes (P &lt; 0.001). Significant postoperative change in AUV and MDA was demonstrated after ERM removal (P &lt; 0.001). However, postoperative AUV of grade 2 and 3 ERM eyes was still significantly smaller than that of normal fellow eyes. Macular thickness differences measured with stratus OCT were positively correlated with AUV differences.ConclusionsRetinal topographic changes caused by ERM improved in part after ERM removal. The improvement of topographic changes were correlated with tomographic changes detected with OCT.</p