Visual Outcomes, Visual Fields, and Optical Coherence Tomography in Paediatric Craniopharyngioma

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Pediatric Oncology
• Neuro-oncology

Background:

• Craniopharyngioma is a rare brain tumor affecting the pituitary gland and optic pathways.
• Pediatric patients often experience significant visual impairment due to tumor compression.
• Monitoring visual function is critical for managing these patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate visual outcomes in pediatric craniopharyngioma patients.
• To assess the concordance between visual field (VF) testing and optical coherence tomography (OCT) in detecting optic nerve damage.
• To explore the utility of OCT parameters for predicting visual recovery.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of 10 pediatric craniopharyngioma patients.
• Analysis of visual field (VF) test results.
• Optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging to measure retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and ganglion cell (GC) layer thickness.
• Statistical analysis of concordance coefficients between VF and OCT parameters.

Main Results:

• The best agreement between VF defects and OCT parameters of atrophy was found for ganglion cell (GC) thickness and mean retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness.
• Good agreement was observed between GC color maps and VF defects.
• RNFL measurement and GC analysis show potential for detecting optic nerve compression.

Conclusions:

• OCT parameters, specifically GC and RNFL thickness, correlate well with VF defects in pediatric craniopharyngioma.
• These OCT measurements may aid in predicting visual recovery and evaluating visual damage, especially in uncooperative patients.
• OCT offers a valuable, objective tool for monitoring visual pathway integrity in pediatric craniopharyngioma.