Measurement of Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer (RNFL) Thickness in Glaucomatous and Healthy Subjects

Tomi Petri, Oltiana Petri, Sulejman Zhugli

Abstract: The aim of the study was to asses retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in glaucomatous eyes using spectral domain optical coherence tomography and to study their correlations with glaucomatous damage. The study group comprised 105 eyes with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), glaucoma suspects (GS) and healthy subjects (n = 35 cases in each group). All participants had comprehensive clinical assessment, visual field (VF) testing and OCT scanning. Significantly lower values of the mean pRNFL thickness were found in the POAG (62.1014.45m) and GS (100.07.15m) groups as compared with healthy group (107.6 6.10 m) p<0.01. Also, in pairwise group comparison RNFL in glaucomatous eyes was significantly thinner in all quadrants p<0.05. The mean deviation (MD) was significantly correlated with pRNFL thickness in POAG group (r2=0.27 p<0.01). In our study-group population the RNFL thickness measured with SD-OCT was significantly thinner in glaucomatous eyes compared to age-matched GS and normal eyes.

Keywords: Glaucoma, Retinal nerve fiber layer thickness