Abstract
Purpose :
Bruch’s membrane opening (BMO) is an anatomical landmark that can be identified with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) and is being increasingly utilized in the assessment of glaucomatous optic nerve morphology. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between demographic parameters and BMO diameter in pediatric glaucoma suspects.
Methods :
This was a retrospective, cross-sectional analysis of clinical records and OCT imaging data from pediatric patients aged between 5-15 years who were diagnosed as being glaucoma suspects based on increased optic nerve cup-to-disc ratios without elevated intraocular pressures. Demographic information and refractive error status were recorded. All OCT images were acquired using a spectral-domain OCT (Spectralis® OCT, Heidelberg Engineering). Horizontal and vertical BMO diameters were calculated for each eye using the device’s built-in software. The right and left eyes were separately analyzed. Student’s t-test, Mann-Whitney test and Pearson correlation analysis were used for statistical comparison.
Results :
Twenty-four subjects (12M/12F) with a mean age 10.2±3.0 years at the time of OCT imaging were included in the study. The mean BMO diameter was 1870±207 μm and 1854±231 μm for the right and left eyes, respectively. There was no significant correlation between patient age and BMO for the right (r=0.089; p=0.679) and the left (r=0.179; p=0.403) eyes. Both the horizontal and the vertical BMO diameters were strongly correlated between the right and the left eyes (horizontal BMO: r=0.823; p<0.001; vertical BMO r=0.818; p<0.001). There were no gender-based differences in the BMO diameters (OD: p=0.525; OS: p=0.149). Refractive error (range=+6.00D to -7.00D) was not correlated with the BMO diameter in either eye (OD: r=0.035; p=0.870; OS: p=0.066; p=0.760). Mean BMO diameter of subjects identifying as Hispanic (n=13) was not different than that of subjects identifying as African American (n=7) (OD: p=0.968; OS: p=0.721).
Conclusions :
BMO diameter does not appear to be influenced by age, gender, ethnicity, or refractive error in pediatric glaucoma suspects. There is a strong inter-ocular correlation in horizontal and vertical BMO diameters in this patient population.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.