Scleral buckling versus primary vitrectomy in rhegmatogenous retinal detachment study (SPR Study): predictive factors for functional outcome. Study report no. 6.

Purpose: To identify risk factors associated with best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) 1 year after initial surgery following primary vitrectomy (PV) and scleral buckling surgery (SB) for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD). Methods: Relating the final BCVA at the 1-year follow-up visit to pre- and intraoperative findings in the 'randomized, prospective, multicenter clinical trial comparing scleral buckling versus primary vitrectomy for repair of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment' (SPR Study) using multivariate statistical methods. Results: In the phakic subtrial, final BCVA is associated with the number of breaks ( p = 0.0259), duration of symptoms ( p = 0.0476), baseline BCVA ( p = 0.0002), retinal detachment central to major vessels arcades ( p = 0.0088), total detachment ( p = 0.0027), and chain formation of breaks ( p = 0.0129). In the pseudophakic/aphakic subtrial, final BCVA is related to the number of retinal breaks ( p = 0.0010), secondary cataract or central capsular fibrosis ( p = 0.0141), intraoperative laser photocoagulation ( p = 0.0373), and inferior detachment with breaks below the 4 and 8 o'clock positions ( p = 0.0173). Conclusion: Final BCVA is the most important outcome for patients undergoing RRD surgery. Our results demonstrate that the final BCVA is related to a higher preoperative number of breaks in both subtrials. Additional risk factors varied between phakic and pseudophakic subgroups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]