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Scanning laser perimetry measurements of RNFL may aid early diagnosis of glaucoma
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Using scanning laser perimetry measurements of retinal nerve fiber layer thickness may be useful for the early detection of glaucoma, according to a study by researchers in China.
Dai Hong, PhD, and colleagues at Beijing Hospital used the GDx-VCC (Carl Zeiss Meditec) to measure retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in 130 eyes of 80 patients with early glaucoma, 90 eyes of 70 patients with advanced glaucoma and 80 eyes of 40 normal controls. The researchers evaluated the efficacy and compatibility of the technology for diagnosing early glaucoma.
Investigators found that RNFL thickness was significantly lower in patients with early glaucoma compared with controls. RNFL thickness was also significantly lower in patients with advanced glaucoma compared with those with early glaucoma (P < .001), according to the study.
Additionally, investigators found a significant link between the mean visual field defect and all RNFL parameters (P < .001), the authors noted.
The areas beneath the receiver operating characteristic curves were greater than 0.7 for all parameters, "which could effectively differentiate early glaucoma from normal subjects," they said.
"Nerve fiber indicator and inferior average are the most effective indicators for the early diagnosis of glaucoma," the authors said.
"The areas under the [receiver operating characteristic] curves were 0.81 for nerve fiber indicator and inferior average with better differentiation capability," they added.
The study is published in the January issue of Ophthalmologica.