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RNFL thickens then thins after panretinal photocoagulation
The peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer in patients with severe diabetic retinopathy thickened soon after panretinal photocoagulation before thinning progressively over the next 2 years, according to a study.
The observational, retrospective case series included 68 eyes of 46 patients with severe diabetic retinopathy who were treated with panretinal photocoagulation. Foveal thickness and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness were measured using optical coherence tomography at baseline, every 3 months up to 1 year postop, and every 6 to 12 months thereafter.
Average RNFL thickness increased slightly in the first 3 months postop, followed by a reduction at 2 years postop from 108.4 µm to 103.5 µm (P = .0051).
At 2 years postop, the inferior and superior quadrant RNFL thicknesses decreased significantly (P = .0119 and P = .0051, respectively), whereas the decreased thickness in the nasal quadrant demonstrated borderline significance and there was no significant decrease for the temporal quadrant.
Similar temporal patterns of long-term change were found for RNFL thickness and foveal thickness, but there was no significant correlation between the two parameters, the authors said.