Correlation of Macular Thickness With Visual Fields in Glaucoma Patients and Suspects

Abstract

Purpose: 

To provide a quantitative comparison of the retinal thickness in the macula, with Humphrey visual field (HVF) parameters and circumpapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) defects, in glaucoma patients and suspects.

Patients and Methods: 

Retrospective statistical analysis of spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) compared with HVF mean deviation (MD) and pattern standard deviation (PSD) in 73 subjects who met the study criteria. Bivariate statistical analysis was performed.

Results: 

Macular thickness correlates with HVF deficits, with much worse MD (−6.8) and PSD (5.8) scores in subjects with average macular thickness <270 μm, compared with those >300 μm, (MD +0.4, PSD 1.7). Both the MD (P=0.0001) and PSD (P<0.0001) correlated with average macular thickness. In subjects with a difference of 3 or greater in the MD between the 2 eyes, there was a difference of 11 to 13 μm in average macular thickness. Asymmetry within the same eye, between the superior macula and inferior macula, correlated with a larger PSD in that eye. There was a strong correlation between RNFL defects and retinal thinning in the macula.

Conclusions: 

SD-OCT measurements of retinal thickness in the macula correlate with HVF parameters and RNFL parameters in glaucoma patients and suspects. This correlation between visual field defects and macular thickness can help in confirming the existence and extent of the visual field defect.