Relationship Between Segmented Macular Layers and Visual Field in Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma.

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between macular nerve fiber layer (mNFL), ganglion cell layer (mGCL), and inner plexiform layer (mIPL) thickness values obtained by spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) segmentation analysis and visual field (VF) mean deviation (MD) values in cases with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). Materials and Methods: mNFL, mGCL, and mIPL thickness measurements were performed by SD-OCT in 25 eyes of 25 POAG patients whose intraocular pressures were under medical control. The correlation between the thickness of each segmented layer and VF MD was analyzed by Pearson correlation analysis. Results: The mean age of the patients was 69±9, and the mean VF MD was -8.09±8.21 dB. The mean mNFL thickness was 27.86±4.81 µ, the mean mGCL thickness was 38.12±6.57 µ, and the mean mIPL thickness was 32.09±4.59 µm. Significant positive correlation was found between VF MD and mNFL (r=0.658, p=0.0003), VF MD and mIPL thickness (r=0.718, p=0.00005), and VF MD and mGCL (r=0.789, p<0.00001). Discussion: Strong positive correlations were found between mNFL thickness, mIPL thickness, and mGCL thickness values and VF MD values in the present study. Especially, the changes in IPL that represent dendritic interactions can open new horizons in developing new structural test strategies for early diagnosis of POAG in larger patient populations, when examined longitudinally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]