While looking only at this center square, look to see if the grid pattern immediately adjacent to the central dark square appears straight and even, like a piece of graph paper. Repeat the test for the other eye, following the same instructions above. Make sure you test both eyes , since CMV retinitis typically strikes only one eye at a time. Summary Early detection of vision changes like those described above can greatly minimize the total amount of damage done by CMV by alerting patients and their doctors to the presence of the virus at the earliest possible stage and by speeding diagnosis and treatment. CMV will respond to treatment in the vast majority of cases, and although CMV in most cases does eventually win the battle, aggressive treatment will result in a significant slowing of the time to blindness in the majority of these patients.
Most people seem to tolerate CMV treatment drugs reasonably well.
With recent advances in more accurate tests for viral load and in the treatment of CMV with new and more powerful antiviral drugs, there is hope that we can one day soon perhaps make this disease manageable or perhaps even preventable, much like PCP infection has become. The Amsler Grid image used here was adapted from materials kindly supplied by Dr. Douglas Jabs, Dept. of Opthamology, Johns Hopkins Hospital.