The relationship between the visual field and the optic nerve head in glaucomas

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Glaucoma Research
• Diagnostic Imaging

Background:

• Chronic open-angle glaucoma (COAG) diagnosis relies on various imaging and functional tests.
• Understanding the complementary roles of different diagnostic methods is crucial for early detection and management.
• Stereochronoscopy (Sc), papillometry (Pm), and visual-field (VF) measurements are used to assess glaucomatous optic neuropathy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the diagnostic findings of stereochronoscopy (Sc), papillometry (Pm), and visual-field (VF) measurements in chronic open-angle glaucoma (COAG).
• To investigate the relationship between neuroretinal rim area and VF findings.
• To explore the unique diagnostic capabilities of Sc compared to Pm and VF tests.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective study involving 50 eyes with chronic open-angle glaucoma.
• Comparison of findings from stereochronoscopy (Sc), papillometry (Pm), and Octopus glaucoma program G1 visual-field measurements.
• Correlation analysis between neuroretinal rim area and visual-field parameters.

Main Results:

• A significant relationship was found between the neuroretinal rim area and visual-field findings (Octopus G1).
• Stereochronoscopy (Sc) showed only a weak correlation with visual-field measurements, suggesting it detects distinct damage.
• Quantitative perimetry and papillometry (Pm) appear to detect similar types of glaucomatous damage.

Conclusions:

• Stereochronoscopy (Sc) may identify glaucomatous damage not detectable by papillometry (Pm) or standard visual-field testing.
• Quantitative perimetry provides similar information to papillometry (Pm) in assessing glaucomatous damage.
• Neuroretinal rim area is strongly correlated with short-term fluctuation, mean damage, and corrected loss variance in glaucoma patients.