Visual fields and OCT role in diagnosis of glaucoma

To evaluate the clinical performance of visual field (VF) tests and optical coherence tomography (OCT) in diagnosing glaucoma.

One hundred sets of disc photographs, red-free fundus photographs, VF tests, and OCT images were presented progressively to seven ophthalmologists. Each set was provided in three steps: (1) the disc and red-free fundus photographs were shown first; (2) then, VF tests were also provided; and (3) finally, the OCT results were provided. The same process was repeated on another day. Kappa statistics were used to assess the intraobserver and interobserver agreement, as well as the agreement with the reference standard.

The intraobserver agreement was almost perfect in this study and did not change markedly with the addition of diagnostic tools. The interobserver agreement increased from 0.54 to 0.61 when VF was added and increased slightly to 0.63 with OCT. The agreement with the reference standard also increased significantly from 0.48 to 0.61 after adding VF and increased slightly with additional OCT.

An optic disc evaluation and VF test are sufficient to diagnose glaucoma in most cases. However, OCT can play an important role in detecting glaucoma in cases in which it cannot be identified by optic disc examination and VF.