Diagnostic capability of scanning laser polarimetry with and without enhanced corneal compensation and optical...

To compare the abilities of the current commercially available versions of scanning laser polarimetry (SLP) and optical coherence tomography (OCT), SLP-variable corneal compensation (VCC), SLP-enhanced corneal compensation (ECC), and high-definition (HD) OCT, in discriminating between healthy eyes and those with early-to-moderate glaucomatous visual field loss.

Healthy volunteers and patients with glaucoma who met the eligibility criteria were consecutively enrolled in this prospective, cross-sectional, observational study. Subjects underwent complete eye examination, automated perimetry, SLP-ECC, SLP-VCC, and HD-OCT. Scanning laser polarimetry parameters were recalculated in 90-degree segments (quadrants) in the calculation circle to be compared. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROCs) were calculated for every parameter in order to compare the ability of each imaging modality to differentiate between normal and glaucomatous eyes.

Fifty-five normal volunteers (mean age 59.1 years) and 33 patients with glaucoma (mean age 63.8 years) were enrolled. Average visual field mean deviation was -6.69 dB (95% confidence interval -8.07 to -5.31) in the glaucoma group. The largest AUROCs were associated with nerve fiber indicator (0.880 and 0.888) for the SLP-VCC and SLP-ECC, respectively, and with the average thickness in the HD-OCT (0.897).

The best performing indices for the SLP-VCC, SLP-ECC, and HD OCT gave similar AUROCs, showing moderate diagnostic accuracy in patients with early to moderate glaucoma. Further studies are needed to evaluate the ability of these technologies to discriminate between normal and glaucomatous eyes.