Glaucoma Progression Detection Time Using OCT and OCTA in African and European Descendants

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Medical Imaging
• Glaucoma Research

Background:

• Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide.
• Early detection of glaucoma progression is crucial for timely intervention and vision preservation.
• Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography (OCTA) are advanced imaging techniques used to monitor glaucoma.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the time to detect glaucoma progression between individuals of African descent (AD) and European descent (ED).
• To evaluate the performance of OCT and OCT angiography (OCTA) in detecting glaucoma progression over time.
• To assess potential racial differences in the efficacy of OCT and OCTA for glaucoma monitoring.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study utilizing data from the Diagnostic Innovations in Glaucoma Study (DIGS).
• Inclusion of AD and ED glaucoma subjects with at least 2 years and 4 visits of OCT and OCTA imaging.
• Computer simulations based on linear mixed effects model-derived variability estimates to assess time to progression detection under standardized and real-world scenarios.

Main Results:

• No significant racial differences in the time to detect glaucoma progression were observed between AD and ED individuals using either OCT or OCTA in standardized simulations.
• Real-world simulations showed that OCTA detected progression in 4.3 years for AD and 3.9 years for ED, compared to 7.0 years for AD and 5.1 years for ED with OCT.
• OCTA demonstrated a shorter time to progression detection (0.4-2.6 years difference) and higher progression rates compared to OCT in both racial groups.

Conclusions:

• Computer simulations indicate no racial disparities in glaucoma progression detection times between AD and ED individuals using OCT and OCTA.
• OCTA consistently showed a shorter time and higher rate of progression detection than OCT across both racial groups.
• OCTA may serve as a valuable ancillary tool to OCT in monitoring glaucoma progression across diverse populations, although further clinical validation is needed.