Abstract
Purpose :
We previously reported a case of juvenile onset glaucoma involving vascular bifurcation displacement away from the disc edge related to a reduction in intraocular pressure (IOP). In this study, using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), we evaluated retinal blood vessel (RBV) displacement within or at the edge of the optic disc after IOP reduction by trabeculectomy in elderly patients with chronic open-angle glaucoma.
Methods :
Fifteen patients, with a mean age of 69.3 years, were enrolled in the study and the affected eye was examined using OCTA before and three months after surgery. Displacement of RBVs was evaluated using flicker chronoscopy in a masked study by an unbiased observer. The number of areas where RBV displacement was observed (either shifting from the cup bottom towards the surface within the optic disc or away from the disc edge) in each eye was counted. The observer counted twice in different sessions and the average of the counts was used for analysis. Bruch’s membrane opening-minimum rim width and circumpapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (cRNFLT) were also measured using spectral-domain OCT.
Results :
The intraclass correlation coefficient for both counts was 0.896 (p<0.001) and the average IOP reduction was 42.8%. A minimum of 0 to maximum of 18 areas of RBV displacement were observed in individual eyes. The number of areas correlated with a change in cRNFLT (r=-0.547, p=0.035).
Conclusions :
Retinal blood vessel displacement was observed using OCTA images following IOP reduction in elderly patients with trabeculectomies and these shifts were correlated with a difference in c-RNFLT over time.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.