Bright-flash electroretinography and vitreous hemorrhage. An experimental study in primates

S. Mandelbaum, P. E. Cleary, S. J. Ryan and T. E. Ogden

Serial, bright-flash electroretinograms (ERGs) were recorded from rhesus monkey eyes before and after a standard posterior penetrating ocular injury and injection of 0.5 mL of blood into the vitreous. This procedure resulted in a progressive depression to virtual nonrecordability of the ERG during a period of several weeks, owing to a combined progressive increase in optical density and loss of retinal function. The ERG depression, however, was reversible, showing a remarkable recovery during the subsequent four to eight weeks. These findings suggest that in the presence of a recent, massive vitreous hemorrhage, a nonrecordable bright-flash ERG does not necessarily indicate a permanent loss of retinal function.