Retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in the fellow eyes of normal-tension glaucoma patients with unilateral visual field defect.

PURPOSE

To quantitatively evaluate retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in the fellow eyes of normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) patients with unilateral visual field defect.

DESIGN

Observational case-control study.

METHODS

Twenty-nine NTG patients with unilateral visual field defect were enrolled in this study. All 29 fellow eyes showed normal visual field. Thirty-one normal eyes of 31 subjects served as controls. The RNFL thickness around the optic disk was determined using Fast RNFL thickness (3.4) of optical coherence tomography. Average and segmental (4 quadrants and 12 clock- hours) RNFL thickness measurements were compared among the three groups.

RESULTS

RNFL thicknesses were significantly different among the three groups in the average, superior quadrant (11 and 12 clock-hour segments), and inferior quadrant (6 clock-hour segment) (P = .00, one-way ANOVA and Tukey's tests).

CONCLUSIONS

RNFL thickness reductions are already present in the fellow eyes of NTG patients with unilateral visual field defect.