Chromatic Pupilloperimetry Measures Correlate With Visual Acuity and Visual Field Defects in Retinitis Pigmentosa...

To evaluate the ability of chromatic pupilloperimetry to identify visual field (VF) defects in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and to test the correlation between pupilloperimetry impairment and retinal structural and functional measures.

The pupil responses of 10 patients with RP (mean age, 41.3 ± 16.2 years) and 32 healthy age-similar controls (mean age, 50.7 ± 15.5 years) for 54 focal blue and red stimuli presented in a 24-2 VF were recorded. The pupilloperimetry measures were correlated with Humphrey VF mean deviation, best-corrected visual acuity, and ellipsoid zone area.

Substantially lower percentage of pupil contraction and maximal pupil contraction velocity (MCV) were recorded in patients with RP throughout the VF in response to blue and red stimuli. The mean absolute deviation (MADEV) in the latency of MCV (LMCV) was significantly larger in patients compared with controls for blue and red stimuli (P = 1.0 × 10^-7 and P = 1.0 × 10^-6, respectively). The LMCV MADEV differentiated between patients and controls with high specificity and sensitivity (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.987 and 0.973 for blue and red, respectively). The MADEV of LMCV for blue stimuli correlated with best-corrected visual acuity (ρ = 0.938, P = 5.9 × 10^-5) and ellipsoid zone area (ρ = -0.857; P = 0.002). The MADEV of LMCV for red stimuli correlated with Humphrey VF mean deviation (ρ = -0.709; P = 0.022). Minimizing the test to 15 targets maintained a diagnosis of retinal damage in patients with RP with high sensitivity and specificity (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.927).

The chromatic pupilloperimetry measures significantly correlated with retinal function and structure in patients with RP at various disease stages.

Chromatic pupilloperimetry may enable objective assessment of visual field defects and visual acuity in RP.