Purpose: To analyze central retinal thickness asymmetry in patients with known and suspected primary open angle glaucoma.
Material and methods: A prospective analysis of 21 patients with known glaucoma and 53 patients with suspected glaucoma. A control group consisted of 25 healthy volunteers. Each enrolled patient had a spectral domain optical coherence tomography performed including a circumpapillary retinal nerve fiber layer and central retinal thickness measurements. A central 20 degree area was divided into 64 3⁰ x 3⁰ areas. The mean retinal thickness was measured in each small square and the value obtained in the upper half of every square was compared to the corresponding value in the lower half. A correlation between the mean circumpapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and the central retinal thickness was assessed.
Results: The mean thickness of circumpapillary retinal nerve fiber layer was significantly lower in patients with known and suspected glaucoma (92.15 ±12.85 μm; 93.84 ± 11.45 μm vs. 97.82 ± 7.48 μm; P<0.05). The mean central retinal thickness did not differ significantly between the groups (291.05 ± 15.86 μm; 290.46 ± 13.60 μm vs. 293.94 ± 11.07 μm; P>0.05). Macular asymmetry was detected significantly more frequently in glaucomatous and glaucoma suspected eyes (78%; 66% vs. 32%; P<0.05). An association between the measured values was observed.
Conclusions: The macular thickness measurements and macular asymmetry analysis may represent a novel strategy in glaucoma diagnosis.