Short-wavelength automated perimetry results are correlated with optical coherence tomography retinal nerve fiber layer thickness measurements in glaucomatous eyes

Purpose: To determine the relationship between retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness measured using optical coherence tomography (OCT) and short wavelength-sensitive visual function measured using short-wavelength automated perimetry (SWAP). Design: Retrospective observational case series. Methods: Subjects were recruited from the longitudinal University of California, San Diego, Diagnostic Innovations in Glaucoma Study and included 29 glaucoma patients with OCT imaging and reliable SWAP visual field (VF) testing within a 6-month window. Main Outcome Measures: Correlations between deviation from normal (thinner than 97.5% of normal) RNFL measurements taken at 300 sectors (12 sectors described as clock hours) and SWAP average pattern deviation within 21 VF zones were determined. The number of OCT-measured RNFL sectors outside of normal limits and the number of VF zones outside of normal limits also were compared. Results: The OCT nerve fiber layer thickness was outside of the normal limits in at least 1 sector in 26 (89.6%) patients. Twenty-eight (96.5%) patients had at least 1 SWAP VF zone outside of normal limits. Optical coherence tomography sectors 6-o'clock, 7-o'clock, and 8-o'clock (inferior and inferotemporal) and SWAP VF zones 13, 14, and 16 (superior hemifield central and arcuate areas) were the most frequently damaged. In general, the strongest R-2 associations were between inferior and inferior temporal RNFL sectors (e.g., 6-o'clock, 7-o'clock) and superior nasal/arcuate VF zones (e.g., zones 13, 14, 15) and between superior and superior temporal RNFL sectors (e.g., 12-o'clock, 11-o'clock) and inferior central and arcuate VF zones (e.g., zones 5, 6, 7) (R-2 range = 24.3%-37.3%, all Ps less than or equal to 0.005). Most nonsignificant associations were found between superior RNFL sectors and superior VF zones. Conclusion: Retinal nerve fiber layer thickness measured with OCT is topographically correlated with glaucomatous VF defects measured with SWAP. (C) 2004 by the American Academy of Ophthalmology.