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Imaging, optic nerve rating systems comparable in diagnosing glaucoma
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SAN DIEGO — The disc damage likelihood scale, optical coherence tomography and the Heidelberg Retina Tomograph 3 compare well in diagnosing open-angle glaucoma, a speaker said here.
The disc damage likelihood scale (DDLS) is a clinical optic nerve rating system used to assess glaucoma risk.
"In the last 10 years, we've had great growth in interest in optic nerve imaging of various types with the hope that these machines would add value and help us to treat our patients with the best methods possible," Jonathan S. Myers, MD, said at the American Glaucoma Society meeting.
The study included 76 patients with open-angle glaucoma and 25 controls without glaucoma. Masked investigators evaluated monocular OCT and HRT images. Study data showed that sensitivity of the DDLS in distinguishing glaucomatous eyes from normal eyes was 96%, OCT was 92% and HRT 3 was 88%. Specificity of the DDLS was 97%, the HRT 3 was 98% and OCT was 95%, Dr. Myers said.
"This study does not at all address progression, and there are reasons to think that the OCT and HRT 3 may bring something extra to the assessment of progression now or in the future," he said. "And for all of these modalities, moderate glaucoma, as expected, was harder to diagnose."