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PURPOSE: To investigate the occurrence and features of the atypical birefringence pattern (ABP) images in scanning laser polarimetry with variable corneal compensation (GD×VCC) in healthy children and to assess their impact on the values of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness. METHODS: GD×VCC scans in 120 healthy white school-aged children with mean age±standard deviation (SD) 12.85±3.0 years were evaluated using typical scan score (TSS) calculation and by subjective grading of the scans. Statistical analysis including the impact of ABP on the RNFL thickness in GD×VCC Temporal-Superior-Nasal-Inferior-Temporal (TSNIT) parameters was done. RESULTS: The ABP was found in 18 out of 120 patients (15%) at cut-off value of TSS <80. Subjective evaluation of the scans raised the frequency of ABP to 20% of patients. The mean±SD values of TSNIT Average, Superior Average, and Inferior Average in 26 eyes with ABP versus 214 eyes with normal birefringence pattern were 66.99±7.29 μm versus 58.00±6.22 μm (P=7.2E to -11), 78.43±9.27 μm versus 72.33±8.72 μm (P=0.001) and 80.87±12.01 μm versus 70.00±10.20 μm (P=0.000001), respectively. The same comparison in TSNIT SD showed minimal difference and was 25.42±5.84 μm versus 26.41±4.81 μm (P=0.41). CONCLUSIONS: The occurrence of ABP in children is not rare and may significantly distort the measured values of the RNFL thickness in TSNIT parameters using GD×VCC.
Departments of Ophthalmology for Children and Adults †Medical Informatics, Charles University in Prague, 2nd Faculty of Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic.
6.9.1.2 Confocal Scanning Laser Polarimetry (Part of: 6 Clinical examination methods > 6.9 Computerized image analysis > 6.9.1 Laser scanning)
2.13 Retina and retinal nerve fibre layer (Part of: 2 Anatomical structures in glaucoma)
9.1.2 Juvenile glaucoma (Part of: 9 Clinical forms of glaucomas > 9.1 Developmental glaucomas)