Incidence Rates and Risk Factors for Vision Loss among AIDS-Related Cytomegalovirus Retinitis Patients in Southern Thailand.

PURPOSE: To describe the incidence of and risk factors for visual acuity (VA) loss in patients with AIDS and cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis. METHODS: A total of 132 patients were included. The main outcome measurements were the incidences of VA loss to ≤20/50 and ≤20/200. RESULTS: The incidences of VA loss to ≤20/50 and ≤20/200 were 0.22/eye-year (EY) and 0.12/EY, respectively. Risk factors for the incidence of VA loss to ≤20/50 were low nadir CD4+ T-cell count (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 3.1), large area of retinitis (aHR, 3.7), and no immune recovery (IR) (aHR, 13.9). Risk factors for the incidence of VA loss to ≤20/200 were not receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) (aHR, 4.4) and large retinitis area (aHR, 2.1). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of VA loss in eyes affected by CMV retinitis was high. The use of HAART, particularly with subsequent immune recovery, substantially reduced the incidence of VA loss.