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Abstract #18500 Published in IGR 3-3
Quantification of the thickness of the retinal nerve fibre layer: a comparison of laser scanning ophthalmoscopy, polarimetry and optical coherence tomography of eyes from healthy patients and patients with primary open-angle glaucoma
Klemm M; Rumberger E; Walter A; Richard GOphthalmologe 2001; 98: 832-843
PURPOSE: To evaluate the thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) in healthy eyes and in eyes of patients with primary open-angle glaucoma using the Heidelberg Retina Tomograph (HRT), the nerve fiber analyzer (NFA), and the optical coherence tomograph (OCT). METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, 40 normal eyes and 86 eyes of age-matched glaucoma patients were compared by confocal scanning laser tomography using HRT, scanning laser polarimetry (NFA), and OCT. RNFL thickness was measured in the superior, inferior, nasal, and temporal regions, as well as the total circumference. RESULTS: All three methods revealed a statistically significant difference between normal and glaucomatous eyes with respect to the mean RNFL thickness in the inferior and superior regions (p < 0.001). The mean RNFL thickness in the superior region was 329 μm (HRT), 87 μm (NFA), and 94 μm (OCT) in healthy volunteers compared to 275 μm (HRT), 72 μm (NFA), and 82 μm (OCT) in the patient group. In the inferior region, it was 323 μm (HRT), 87 μm (NFA), and 93 μm (OCT) in healthy subjects versus 240 μm (HRT), 74 μm (NFA), and 83 μm (OCT) in glaucoma patients. Cut-off points to differentiate between normal and glaucomatous eyes could not be defined. There was no difference in the RNFL thickness of right or left eyes. CONCLUSIONS: In RNFL thickness measurements using HRT, NFA, and OCT, glaucoma patients showed a significantly thinner RNFL in the superior and inferior areas compared to healthy volunteers. These results confirm the known histological and fundus photographic findings of RNFL thinning near the optic disc in glaucoma patients. Although RNFL thickness cannot be used to diagnose glaucoma in individual patients, due to the high interindividual differences, the quantitative assessment of RNFL thickness may complement the diagnostic armamentarium as a sensitive parameter for diagnosing and monitoring glaucomas. LA: German
Dr M. Klemm, Universitätsaugenklinik Hamburg, Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
Classification:
2.13 Retina and retinal nerve fibre layer (Part of: 2 Anatomical structures in glaucoma)
