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Assessing Early Stage Open-Angle Glaucoma in Patients by Isolated-Check Visual Evoked Potential
Published on: May 25, 2020
Pattern electroretinogram and psychophysical tests of visual function for discriminating between healthy and glaucoma
Ali Tafreshi1, Lyne Racette, Robert N Weinreb
1Hamilton Glaucoma Center and Department of Ophthalmology, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0946, USA.
American Journal of Ophthalmology
|February 23, 2010
Summary
The pattern electroretinogram (pattern ERG) shows diagnostic accuracy comparable to standard automated perimetry (SAP) and short-wavelength automated perimetry (SWAP) for glaucoma detection. While frequency-doubling technology (FDT) perimetry performed better, pattern ERG offers an objective alternative.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Neuroscience
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Glaucoma diagnosis relies on detecting characteristic visual field defects.
- Objective electrophysiological tests are sought to complement psychophysical perimetry.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the diagnostic accuracy of pattern electroretinogram (pattern ERG) against standard automated perimetry (SAP), short-wavelength automated perimetry (SWAP), and frequency-doubling technology (FDT) perimetry.
- To evaluate the efficacy of pattern ERG in discriminating between healthy and glaucomatous eyes.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 42 healthy recruits and 54 glaucoma patients.
- Testing included pattern ERG, SAP, SWAP, and FDT perimetry within a 9-month period.
- Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated to compare diagnostic performance.
Main Results:
- Pattern ERG amplitude showed an area under the ROC curve of 0.744.
- SAP (PSD) and FDT (PSD) demonstrated higher areas under the ROC curve (0.786 and 0.818, respectively).
- At 95% specificity, SAP and FDT sensitivities were significantly higher than pattern ERG; agreement among tests was slight to moderate.
Conclusions:
- Pattern ERG diagnostic accuracy was similar to SAP and SWAP, but inferior to FDT.
- Pattern ERG may offer an advantage due to its objective nature compared to psychophysical tests.
