Scientific correspondence
Study of retinal nerve fibre layer thickness in eyes with high
tension glaucoma and hemifield defect
Michael S Kooka, Kyung-rim Sunga, Soontae Kima, Ryuhwa Parka, Weechang Kangb
a Department of
Ophthalmology, University of Ulsan, College of Medicine, Songpa-gu,
Seoul, 138-736, Korea, b Unit for Consulting
Biostatistics, Asan Medical Center, 388-1 Pungnap-dong, Korea
Correspondence to: Michael S Kook, MD Department of Ophthalmology, University of Ulsan, College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, 388-1 Pungnap-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, 138-736, Korea mskook{at}www.amc.seoul.kr
Accepted for publication 17 April 2001
AIM
To quantitatively
evaluate retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) difference in areas of
apparently normal appearing visual field in eyes with high tension
glaucoma (HTG) and hemifield defects using scanning laser polarimetry.
METHODS40 eyes from
40 patients with HTG with superior or inferior hemifield defects based
on the Humphrey field analyser (HFA) underwent RNFL thickness
measurements. 20 normal eyes from 20 subjects matched in age and
refractive error were selected as a control group. The RNFL thickness
was measured with a scanning laser polarimeter. Mean RNFL thickness was
evaluated in four quadrants (superior, inferior, nasal, and temporal).
A superior or inferior quadrant in the defined ring of scanning laser
polarimetry corresponds to inferior or superior hemifield in HFA.
RESULTSThe mean RNFL
thickness in the unaffected quadrant (the quadrant corresponding to the
hemifield with apparently normal visual field based on HFA) of the HTG
group was significantly thinner than the average RNFL thickness of the
corresponding quadrant of the control eyes. The RNFL thickness of the
unaffected quadrant in the eyes with HTG was reduced and statistically
similar to that of the affected quadrant. Symmetry, calculated as the
ratio of superior to inferior RNFL thickness, showed no statistical difference between the study and control group.
CONCLUSIONChanges in
RNFL are present in the apparently normal hemifield in the eyes with
HTG. The thickness of the RNFL is reduced symmetrically in both
superior and inferior quadrants based on the GDx parameters.
© 2001 by British Journal of Ophthalmology
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