Pattern ERG not predictive of post-surgery vision in chiasmatic tumors

This prospective study found no association between preoperative pattern electroretinogram and postoperative vision in eyes with chiasmatic tumors.

The authors evaluated the ability of preoperative pattern electroretinogram to predict visual outcomes in 20 patients (40 eyes) who underwent decompressive surgery for sellar and parasellar tumors.

At six weeks, there was no association between preoperative pattern electroretinogram and postoperative improvement in visual fields (P = 0.093). An abnormal N2/P1 ratio was not necessarily associated with lesser or no clinical improvement following surgery as compared to an eye with a normal pattern electroretinogram. 

The authors say these data suggest that damage to the optic chiasm or optic nerve is largely reversible and may in fact be related to other factors, such as disease duration.