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Christopher Bowd, PhD; Robert N. Weinreb, MD; Julia M. Williams, BS; Linda M. Zangwill, PhD

Arch Ophthalmol. 2000;118:22-26.

Objective  To quantitatively assess and compare the thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) in ocular hypertensive eyes with normal and glaucomatous eyes using the Optical Coherence Tomograph (OCT 2000, software version A4X1; Humphrey Instruments, San Leandro, Calif).

Methods  The mean RNFL thickness of ocular hypertensive (n = 28) eyes was compared with age-matched normal (n = 30) and glaucomatous (n = 29) eyes. Subject eyes were classified into diagnostic groups based on intraocular pressure, stereoscopic disc photographs, and standard automated perimetry. Three circular scans were obtained for each eye at a diameter of 3.4 mm around the optic disc. In each eye, average RNFL thickness measurements were obtained in temporal, superior, nasal, and inferior quadrants. A single index of average RNFL thickness throughout 360° also was obtained.

Results  Mean (95% confidence interval) RNFL was significantly thinner in ocular hypertensive eyes than in normal eyes, 72.8 µm (66.4-78.1 µm) and 85.8 µm (80.2-91.7 µm), respectively. More specifically, RNFL was significantly thinner in ocular hypertensive eyes than in normal eyes in the inferior quadrant, 84.8 µm (75.6-94.0 µm) vs 107.6 µm (99.3-115.9 µm); and in the nasal quadrant, 44.1 µm (37.5-51.7 µm) vs 61.8 µm (53.0-65.6 µm). Retinal nerve fiber layer was significantly thinner in glaucomatous eyes than in ocular hypertensive and normal eyes throughout 360° and in all quadrants.

Conclusion  These findings suggest that quantitative differences in RNFL thickness exist between age-matched ocular hypertensive, normal, and glaucomatous eyes.

From the Glaucoma Center and Diagnostic Imaging Laboratory, Department of Ophthalmology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, Calif.

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