Abstract
Purpose
To investigate the current status of electrophysiological test use in ophthalmology.
Methods
We analyzed 1057 electrophysiological tests conducted at Kim’s Eye Hospital from January 1 to December 31, 2018. The included tests were electroretinogram (full-field, multifocal, and pattern ERG), electrooculogram (EOG), and visual evoked potential (pattern and flash VEP). To investigate the distribution of use of subspecialties, it was divided by subspecialties (retina, glaucoma, oculoplastic surgery, pediatric ophthalmology, neuro-ophthalmology, cornea, and external diseases).
Results
The patients were aged 50.6 years on average and included 624 men and 433 women. Among the electrophysiological tests, VEP was the most common, with 567 cases (53.6%), followed by ERG with 311 cases (29.4%) and EOG with 98 cases (9.3%). Regarding the purpose of use, the objective of visual function evaluation was the highest at 56.3%, followed by the differential diagnosis of unknown causes (33.0%) and the confirmation of diagnoses (10.7%). Both VEP and ERG were used the most for visual function evaluation, and mfERG was most used for differential diagnosis of unknown etiology. Electrophysiological tests were most often used in the retina department, but VEPs were used in various fields such as neuro-ophthalmology, glaucoma, and oculoplastics.
Conclusion
Electrophysiological tests are used to objectively evaluate visual function or discriminate diseases of unknown causes and are used in various departments. Electrophysiology testing is expected to be an additional test to assess visual function.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Young B, Eggenberger E, Kaufman D (2012) Current electrophysiology in ophthalmology: a review. Curr Opin Ophthalmol 23:497–505. https://doi.org/10.1097/ICU.0b013e328359045e
Dettoraki M, Moschos MM (2016) The role of multifocal electroretinography in the assessment of drug-induced retinopathy: a review of the literature. Ophthalmic Res 56:169–177. https://doi.org/10.1159/000446321
Tsang SH, Sharma T (2018) Electrooculography. Adv Exp Med Biol 1085:21–22. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95046-4_6
Hamilton R, Bach M, Heinrich SP, Hoffmann MB, Odom JV, McCulloch DL, Thompson DA (2021) VEP estimation of visual acuity: a systematic review. Doc Ophthalmol 142:25–74. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10633-020-09770-3
Holder GE (2004) Electrophysiological assessment of optic nerve disease. Eye (Lond) 18:1133–1143. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.eye.6701573
Camuglia JE, Greer RM, Welch L, Gole GA (2011) Use of the electroretinogram in a paediatric hospital. Clin Exp Ophthalmol 39:506–512. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9071.2011.02499.x
Aumann S, Donner S, Fischer J, Muller F (2019) Optical coherence tomography (OCT): principle and technical realization. In: Bille JF (ed) High resolution imaging in microscopy and ophthalmology: new frontiers in biomedical optics. Springer, Cham, pp 59–85
Yang JJ, Huang CH, Yang CH, Yang CM, Lin CW, Ho TC, Lin CP, Hsieh YT, Yeh PT, Lai TT, Chen PL, Chen TC (2021) The clinical contribution of full-field electroretinography and 8-year experiences of application in a tertiary medical center. J Pers Med. https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm11101022
Odom JV, Bach M, Brigell M, Holder GE, McCulloch DL, Mizota A, Tormene AP (2016) ISCEV standard for clinical visual evoked potentials: (2016 update). Doc Ophthalmol 133(1):1–9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10633-016-9553-y
Bach M, Brigell MG, Hawlina M, Holder GE, Johnson MA, McCulloch DL, Meigen T, Viswanathan S (2013) ISCEV standard for clinical pattern electroretinography (PERG): 2012 update. Doc Ophthalmol 126:1–7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10633-012-9353-y
Hood DC, Bach M, Brigell M, Keating D, Kondo M, Lyons JS, Marmor MF, McCulloch DL, Palmowski-Wolfe AM (2012) ISCEV standard for clinical multifocal electroretinography (mfERG) (2011 edition). Doc Ophthalmol 124(1):1–13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10633-011-9296-8
Constable PA, Bach M, Frishman LJ, Jeffrey BG, Robson AG (2017) ISCEV Standard for clinical electro-oculography (2017 update). Doc Ophthalmol 134(1):1–9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10633-017-9573-2
Robson AG, Frishman LJ, Grigg J, Hamilton R, Jeffrey BG, Kondo M, Li S, McCulloch DL (2022) ISCEV Standard for full-field clinical electroretinography (2022 update). Doc Ophthalmol. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10633-022-09872-0
Carter P, Gordon-Reid A, Shawkat F, Self JE (2021) Comparison of the handheld RETeval ERG system with a routine ERG system in healthy adults and in paediatric patients. Eye (Lond) 35:2180–2189. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41433-020-01221-2
Renner AB, Kellner U, Tillack H, Kraus H, Foerster MH (2005) Recording of both VEP and multifocal ERG for evaluation of unexplained visual loss electrophysiology in unexplained visual loss. Doc Ophthalmol 111:149–157. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10633-005-5362-4
Mahroo OA (2015) Electroretinography can provide objective assessment of inner retinal function prior to atrophic change on OCT. Eye (Lond) 29:1513. https://doi.org/10.1038/eye.2015.116
Acknowledgements
None.
Funding
No funding was received for this research.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
All authors certify that they have no affiliations.
Statement of human rights
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki.
Statement of the welfare of animals
Not applicable.
Ethical approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee (IRB of Kim’s Eye Hospital) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Informed Consent
For this type of study, formal consent is not required.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Song, M.Y., Kim, U.S. Current usage of electrophysiological tests in a secondary referral hospital in Korea. Doc Ophthalmol 145, 127–131 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10633-022-09894-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10633-022-09894-8