Quantitative Evaluation of Metamorphopsia in Patients with Diabetic Macular Edema Using M-Charts™

Purpose The aim of this study is to quantitatively evaluate and statistically analyze the vertical and horizontal metamorphopsia scores and Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) data of diabetic macular edema (DME) patients who described metamorphopsia and had an indication for intravitreal bevacizumab injection, before and after intravitreal injection. Methods In this study, patients who applied to Ophthalmology outpatient clinic of Akdeniz University between December 2021 and December 2022 and were followed up for at least 6 months were retrospectively reviewed. Fifty-one eyes of 51 patients were included in the study. All patients received an intravitreal injection of 2 mg bevacizumab with four-week intervals. Age, gender, presence of systemic and ocular diseases, baseline visual acuity, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) 1, 3, and 6 months after injection, M-CHARTS parameters, and OCT parameters were evaluated for the patients. Results Findings of the study indicated BCVA increased in 35 of 51 eyes at the end of six months compared to pretreatment. The patients received an average of 4.5 injections, with a standard deviation of ± 1.3. At the end of six months, a statistically significant decrease was observed in central foveal thickness (CFT) (p < 0.001) and metamorphopsia scores (Mv; p < 0.005, Mh; p < 0.05). BCVA improved significantly at the end of six months (p < 0.001). Conclusion Diabetic macular edema is a vascular retinal disease that can impair visual acuity and cause metamorphopsia. M-CHARTS plays an important role in the quantitative evaluation of metamorphopsia complaints of patients with DME. The present study demonstrated the efficacy of intravitreal injections in addressing both DME and metamorphopsia complaints. Further research is needed to clarify the relationship between metamorphopsia and OCT parameters.