Comparative analysis of tabular and software methods of quantitative assessment of metamorphopsia

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Identifying and evaluating the severity of patients complaints of metamorphopsia is an important component of the pre- and postoperative management of patients with vitreomacular interface conditions. To diagnose metamorphopsia, the Amsler grid is used, which allows to detect changes, but does not allow to quantify them. The authors of this article have developed a special software program for quantitative evaluation of metamorphopsia. AIM: The aim is to comparatively evaluate tabular and programmatic methods of metamorphopsia assessment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study involved 36 patients (36 eyes) divided into two groups: “macular hole” (20 patients, 20 eyes) and “epiretinal fibrosis” (16 patients, 16 eyes). Quantitative assessment of metamorphopsia was performed by two methods: tabular — using printed tables, which are an analog of M-CHARTS, and software — using the developed computer program. RESULTS: When comparing the integral parameters of the two methods using the Bland–Altman analysis, the results were highly comparable: the mean value of the difference between the PMs determined by the tabular and program methods was only –0.020°; the 95% confidence interval ranged from 0.277° to 0.235°, with 34 (94.4%) cases out of 36 falling within this range. CONCLUSIONS: The program and tabular methods of metamorphopsia examination are interchangeable and provide reasonably accurate quantification of metamorphopsia. The developed program is available on-line (https://mntk.ru/specialists/nauka-sotr/diag_meta/) and can be recommended for widespread clinical use.