Original articleRetinal Nerve Fiber Layer Imaging with Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography: Pattern of RNFL Defects in Glaucoma
Section snippets
Subjects
A total of 113 normal subjects and 116 glaucoma patients were consecutively enrolled. They were followed from September 2008 to July 2009 at the University Eye Center, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and enrolled for the research study “RNFL Imaging with Spectral-Domain OCT,” which was designed to investigate the roles of RNFL imaging for detecting and following glaucoma. All subjects underwent a full ophthalmic examination, including measurement of visual acuity, refraction, intraocular
Results
Table 1 presents subject demographics. Among the 116 glaucoma patients, 44 had mild (MD≥−6 dB), 26 had moderate (−6 dB>MD>−12 dB), and 46 had advanced (MD≤−12 dB) visual field defects. There were significant differences in spherical refractive error, disc area, parapapillary atrophic area, and signal strength between the normal and glaucoma groups (all with P≤0.002). Glaucoma patients were more myopic and had larger optic disc and parapapillary atrophic areas.
Discussion
With detailed spatial analysis of the RNFL thickness deviation map constructed from the Cirrus HD-OCT, we characterized the distribution pattern, angular dimension and area of RNFL defects over a wide spectrum of glaucomatous damage. This information provides important insights to understanding the development and progression of RNFL damage in glaucoma.
In the frequency distribution analysis (Fig 2), 75% to 80% of glaucoma patients had RNFL loss evident at the inferotemporal meridians between
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Manuscript no. 2009-1708.
Financial Disclosure(s): Christopher K.S. Leung – Speaker honorarium – Carl Zeiss Meditec, Heidelberg Engineering, Topcon; Research support – Carl Zeiss Meditec, Optovue
Robert N. Weinreb – Consultant – Carl Zeiss Meditec, Optovue, Topcon; Research support – Carl Zeiss Meditec, Heidelberg Engineering, Optovue, Topcon.
Supported by the Chinese University of Hong Kong Direct Grant.