Measurement of aqueous flare and cells in retinal detachment

Background Aim of this study was the investigation of changes of aqueous flare and cells in eyes with retinal detachment. Patients und methods We examined 62 eyes of 61 patients with retinal detachment (56 eyes with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, 6 eyes with traction retinal detachment; 51 eyes without and 11 eyes with clinical signs of proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) stage C) with the laser flare-cell meter (LFCM) and compared the results with clinical findings and with the results of a control group. Results The flare values as well as the cell count of all eyes with retinal detachment were significantly elevated (p < 0.0001) in comparison to those of the control group. In eyes with PVR a significant elevation of flare values in comparison to eyes without PVR appeared (p = 0.0052). A slight correlation was found between the extension of the detachment and the flare values and the cell count, respectively. In cases with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment a significant elevation of the cell count was found if the largest break was localized in the upper hemisphere (p = 0.03) or if the maculla was affected (p = 0.02). In rhegmatogenous retinal detach ment, the cell count correlated slightly with the age of the patients (r = 0.3, p = 0.02), and flare values correlated with the height of the detachment (r = 0.28: p = 0.04). Conclusions Our results demonstrate a breakdown of the blood-ocular barriers in eyes with retinal detachment and an elevation of corpuscular elements in aqueous as manifestations of pseudouveitis. In eyes with PVR the alteration of blood-ocular barriers seems to be more extensive than in eyes without PVR indicating a possible role of the LFCM for early detection of PVR.