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OCT, visual field measurements useful for tracking glaucoma progression
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WAILEA, Hawaii – Measuring visual field by optical coherence tomography can be useful in tracking glaucoma progression, according to a speaker here.
“We now know that we can detect glaucoma earlier than we ever could before. What we are detecting structurally by OCT is really glaucoma,” Joel S. Schuman, MD, FACS, said at the Hawaiian Eye 2015 meeting.
Joel S.
Schuman
According to Schuman, there are three stages to tracking glaucoma: the first stage is detecting glaucoma and progression through retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) measurement; the second stage is detecting glaucoma and progression through RNFL and visual field measurement; and in the third stage, only the visual field is giving useful information because the retinal nerve fiber layer may be providing misleading information.
“There is a floor below which the nerve fiber layer thickness does not change, and you can be falsely reassured that your patient is stable when in fact they are getting worse. When you hit that floor, you need to pay attention to the visual field … not the RNFL,” Schuman said. – by Nhu Te
In these type of patients, the visual field is very helpful in identifying progression, Schuman said.
Disclosure: Schuman receives royalties from Carl Zeiss Meditec.