Comparison of Retinal Ganglion Cell Damage in Glaucoma and Retinal Vein Occlusion by Visual Field

Jiyoung Lee; Sooji Jeon; Hae-Young Lopilly Park

doi:10.3341/jkos.2019.60.5.455

Journal List > J Korean Ophthalmol Soc > v.60(5) > 1122596

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Lee, Jeon, and Park: Comparison of Retinal Ganglion Cell Damage in Glaucoma and Retinal Vein Occlusion by Visual Field

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Ophthalmological Society 2019; 60(5): 455-462.

Published online: 15 May 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3341/jkos.2019.60.5.455

Comparison of Retinal Ganglion Cell Damage in Glaucoma and Retinal Vein Occlusion by Visual Field

Jiyoung Lee, MD, Sooji Jeon, MD, Hae-Young Lopilly Park, MD, PhD

Department of Ophthalmology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.

Address reprint requests to Hae-Young Lopilly Park, MD, PhD. Department of Ophthalmology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, #222 Banpo-daero, Seocho-gu, Seoul 06591, Korea. Tel: 82-2-2258-6329, Fax: 82-2-599-7405, lopilly@catholic.ac.kr

Received 3 January 2019 Revised 27 February 2019 Accepted 25 April 2019

The Korean Ophthalmological Society

(open-access):

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Purpose

We analyzed and compared retinal ganglion cell damage between patients with glaucoma and those with branched retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). We performed two types of visual field examinations.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 40 glaucoma eyes and 40 BRVO eyes. We compared the median deviation (MD), the pattern standard deviation (PSD), and sensitivity of damaged visual hemifield from frequency-doubling technology (FDT) C24-2 and standard automated perimetry (SAP) C24-2 visual field tests evaluation. We sought correlations between the MDs and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness as revealed by optical coherence tomography.

Results

MDs did not differ between the groups. PSD value was higher in glaucoma patients with FDT C24-2 test (p = 0.022), but no difference between two groups with SAP C24-2 test (p = 0.144). In terms of the sensitivity of the damaged visual hemifield, glaucoma patients had larger areas of damage in the FDT C24-2 test (p < 0.01). In regression analyses, the log R² values of both tests were higher in glaucoma patients.

Conclusions

Glaucoma patients had a greater damaged visual field area in the FDT C24-2 test than the SAP C24-2 test. The BRVO patients exhibited similar extents of damage in both tests. Thus, the subtypes and distributions of damaged retinal ganglion cells may differ between the conditions, facilitating differential diagnosis.

Keywords: Glaucoma, Retinal ganglion cell, Retinal vein occlusion, Visual field

Figures and Tables

Figure 1

Percentage of abnormal points in the FDT C24-2 and SAP 24-2. It is based on confidential limits of 5% and 1% on glaucoma patients and BRVO patients. FDT = frequency doubling technique; SAP = standard automated perimetry; BRVO = branched retinal vein occlusion; Conf. limits = confidential limits.

Figure 2

Comparison as mean difference between FDT C24-2 and SAP C24-2 on glaucoma patients and BRVO patients. The percentage of the raw sensitivity points and where the confidence limit is less than 5% and 1% was calculated. FDT = frequency doubling technique; SAP = standard automated perimetry; BRVO = branched retinal vein occlusion. ^*The difference of raw sensitivity value from FDT C24-2 to SAP C24-2. In glaucoma patients, it was positive value but in BRVO patients, it was negative value.

Figure 3

Correlation between average RNFL thickness and median deviation categorized by diagnosis and visual field examination. (A) Glaucoma patients, FDT C24-2 (B) glaucoma patients, SAP C24-2 (C) BRVO patients, FDT C24-2 (D) BRVO patients, SAP C24-2. FDT = frequency doubling technique; SAP = standard automated perimetry; BRVO = branched retinal vein occlusion; RNFL = retinal nerve fiber layer.

Figure 4

A 41-year-old patient with NTG at superior hemifield and BRVO at inferior hemifield. (A) FDT C24-2 and SAP C24-2. On superior hemifield, the FDT C24-2 showed progressive visual defect than SAP C24-2, but on inferior hemifield two examination showed smiliar results. (B) OCT showed superior and inferior RNFL defect. (C) Disc and red-free photographs show glaucomatous cupping and localized RNFL defect. NTG = normal tension glaucoma; BRVO = branched retinal vein occlusion; FDT = frequency doubling technique; SAP = standard automated perimetry; RNFL = retinal nerve fiber layer; OCT = optical coherence tomography.

Table 1

Demographic of patients and calculation of visual fields parameters

Values are presented as mean ± standard deviation unless otherwise indicated.

BRVO = branched retinal vein occlusion; IOP = intraocular pressure; RNFL= retinal nerve fiber layer; FDT = frequency doubling technique; SAP = standard automated perimetry.

^*Student t-test, p < 0.05.

Table 2

Multiple linear regression analysis of mean difference between frequency doubling technology perimetry C24-2 (FDT C24-2) and Standard automatic perimetry C24-2 (SAP 24-2) for the percentage of depressed points

CI = confidence Interval; IOP = intraocular pressure; RNFL= retinal nerve fiber layer; BRVO = branched retinal vein occlusion.

^*Student t-test, p < 0.05.

Notes

^{Conflicts of Interest} The authors have no conflicts to disclose.

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