Dark-Adapted Chromatic Perimetry for Measuring Rod Visual Fields in Patients with Retinitis Pigmentosa

Although rod photoreceptors are initially affected in retinitis pigmentosa (RP), the full-field of rod vision is not routinely characterized due to the unavailability of commercial devices detecting rod sensitivity. The purpose of this study was to quantify rod-mediated vision in the peripheral field from patients with RP using a new commercially available perimeter.

Participants had one eye dilated and dark-adapted for 45 minutes. A dark-adapted chromatic (DAC) perimeter tested 80 loci 144° horizontally and 72° vertically with cyan stimuli. The number of rod-mediated loci (RML) were analyzed based on normal cone sensitivity (method 1) and associated with full-field electroretinography (ERG) responses by Pearson's r correlation and linear regression. In a second cohort of patients with RP, RML were identified by two-color perimetry (cyan and red; method 2). The two methods for ascribing rod function were compared by Bland-Altman analysis.

Method 1 RML were correlated with responses to the 0.01 cd.s/m² flash (P < 0.001), while total sensitivity to the cyan stimulus showed correlation with responses to the 3.0 cd.s/m² flash (P < 0.0001). Method 2 detected a mean of 10 additional RML compared to method 1.

Scotopic fields measured with the DAC detected rod sensitivity across the full visual field, even in some patients who had nondetectable rod ERGs. Two-color perimetry is warranted when sensitivity to the cyan stimulus is reduced to ≤20 dB to get a true estimation of rod function.

Many genetic forms of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) are caused by mutations in rod-specific genes. However, treatment trials for patients with RP have relied primarily on photopic (cone-mediated) tests as outcome measures because there are a limited number of available testing methods designed to evaluate rod function. Thus, efficient methods for quantifying rod-mediated vision are needed for the rapidly increasing numbers of clinical trials.