This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Structural imaging most effective for early glaucoma detection
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
BOSTON — By virtue of high sensitivity, structural imaging is more effective in identifying preperimetric glaucoma than gauging disease progression, a speaker said here.
 Douglas J. Rhee |
Douglas J. Rhee, MD, discussed optic nerve and retinal nerve fiber layer testing during Glaucoma Day preceding the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting.
"Because of higher sensitivity, a normal test ... is very reassuring," Dr. Rhee said. "What do you do with an abnormal test? Because of the problems of specificity, I would suggest that you just follow the patient more closely. But if you have a normal finding, it's reassuring that the patient is actually doing OK because of how sensitive these technologies are. ... For progression, I think the jury is still out."
Spectral domain optical coherence tomography has gained favor in the last 2 years and has shown some promise, Dr. Rhee said. However, the literature shows mixed results with the modality, he said.
OCT and the Heidelberg Retina Tomograph (HRT, Heidelberg Engineering) are not interchangeable, Dr. Rhee said, noting that the OCT-generated topography map is limited and may not render some key anatomic changes. HRT is good for early diagnosis, Dr. Rhee said.
Scanning laser polarimetry is also effective in detecting early signs of glaucoma, Dr. Rhee said.
Follow OSNSuperSite.com
on Twitter.