Purpose: To compare the performance of the scanning peripheral anterior chamber depth analyzer (SPAC) and the modified van Herick grading system in the assessment of angle closure, using gonioscopy as the reference standard.
Design: Prospective comparative study.
Participants: One hundred twenty phakic subjects (53 with primary angle closure and 67 with open angles) with no history of laser or intraocular surgery.
Methods: The modified van Herick grading system was used to grade the peripheral anterior chamber depth (ACD) clinically. The SPAC was used to assess ACD, and this was graded categorically as S (suspect angle closure), P (potential angle closure), or N (normal) and numerically from 1 to 12. One randomly selected eye of each subject underwent examination with the modified van Herick grading, SPAC, Goldmann applanation tonometry, optic disc examination, and gonioscopy. The SPAC measurements, modified van Herick grades (0%, 5%, 15%, 25%, 40%, 75%, and > or =100% of corneal thickness), and gonioscopy (graded as narrow or open) were correlated using the Spearman correlation coefficient. The receiver operating characteristics of the 2 methods to detect angle closure also were compared.
Main outcome measures: Grading of ACD by the SPAC, the modified van Herick system, and gonioscopic grading of the angle.
Results: The SPAC results correlated well with the modified van Herick grading system (categorical grade, r = 0.527; numerical grade, r = 0.542; P<0.0001). For eyes graded as having narrow angles by gonioscopy, the area under the curve (AUC) for SPAC categorical grade S or P was 0.790; sensitivity and specificity were 84.9% and 73.1%, respectively. For the modified van Herick grading system, using a cutoff of peripheral ACD < or = 25% corneal thickness, the AUC was 0.872 and sensitivity and specificity were 84.9% and 89.6%. Compared with gonioscopy that found 53 of 120 cases of narrow angles, the SPAC graded more eyes as having narrow angles (63/120) than the modified van Herick system (52/120).
Conclusions: The SPAC correlated well with the modified van Herick system in grading peripheral ACD. However, the SPAC appeared to overestimate the proportion of eyes with narrow angles relative to gonioscopy and the modified van Herick grading system.