Circumpapillary microperimetry to detect glaucoma: a pilot study for sector-based comparison to circumpapillary retinal nerve fiber layer measurement.

PURPOSE

To evaluate and compare the diagnostic performance of circumpapillary microperimetry (MP) sensitivity and circumpapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (cpRNFLT) measured with optical coherence tomography (OCT) for detection of early to moderate open-angle glaucoma.

METHODS

Eleven eyes (11 patients) with early or moderate open-angle glaucoma and seven normal eyes (7 subjects) underwent MP (MP-3 microperimeter, NIDEK, Japan) and cpRNFLT measurement (RS-3000 Advance OCT, NIDEK, Japan) using an identical circumpapillary circle and similar measurement sectors. The structure-function relationship and the area under the receiver-operating characteristics curve (AUROC) were investigated for each sector, respectively.

RESULTS

Significant differences (P < 0.05) between glaucoma and normal eyes were found for five of the 12 OCT sectors and seven of the 24 MP sectors. High correlation between cpRNFLT and MP sensitivity was found in the inferotemporal area (OCT sector 5) and superotemporal area (OCT sector 1) (r = 0.818, P < 0.001, and r = 0.796, P < 0.001, respectively). The AUROC values in these sectors ranged 0.890-1.000 for cpRNFLT and 0.825-0.981 for MP sensitivity. Overall, the AUROC ranged 0.506-1.000 for sector cpRNFLT and 0.591-0.981 for sector MP sensitivity.

CONCLUSIONS

In this pilot study, circumpapillary MP sensitivity and cpRNFLT showed similar diagnostic power. The structure-function relationship was strong for the superotemporal and inferotemporal circumpapillary areas. Our results suggest that circumpapillary MP represents a new aspect of microperimetry in glaucoma. Further studies on larger populations are necessary to clarify whether the current results are confirmed in clinical practice.