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RNFL thickness mapping aids detection, surveillance of glaucoma progression
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Analysis of retinal nerve fiber layer thickness maps created with optical coherence tomography enabled the detection of topographic changes associated with glaucoma progression, a study found.
Retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness change mapping is a component of Guided Progression Analysis (Carl Zeiss Meditec), which tracks RNFL progression based on consecutive RNFL thickness maps, the study authors said.
“Tracking the topographic changes of the RNFL can serve as a new paradigm to monitor the continuum of glaucoma progression,” they said.
The prospective, longitudinal study included 186 eyes of 103 patients with glaucoma.
The Cirrus HD-OCT platform (Carl Zeiss Meditec) was used to image both eyes of each patient. The Humphrey Field Analyzer II-i (Carl Zeiss Meditec) was used to perform standard automated white-on-white perimetry every 4 months for at least 36 months.
Imaging and visual field testing were performed separately and masked from other clinical data. Computer analysis was used to identify and measure significant RNFL changes.
A total of 2,135 OCT images were taken. The mean interval between OCT examinations was 4.2 months, and there was an average of 11.5 images analyzed for each eye.
RNFL thickness mapping detected RNFL progression in 28 eyes of 24 patients.
Concomitant visual field progression was identified in 13 of the 28 eyes; eight of these eyes had RNFL progression that occurred before or simultaneously with visual field progression.
Forty-two eyes of 37 patients had visual field progression without evidence of progression on RNFL thickness maps, the authors said.
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