Peripapillary Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness Measurement Reproducibility Using Optical Coherence Tomography

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Abstract
* OBJECTIVE: To assess reproducibility of quadrantic and clock hour sectors of retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in normal eyes using optical coherence tomography. * MATERIALS AND METHODS: Normal eyes of healthy volunteers meeting eligibility criteria, were imaged by two inexperienced operators. Six 360° circular scans with a diameter of 3.4 mm centered on the optic disc were obtained during each scanning session, and a baseline image was formed using 3 high-quality images defined by the software. Images were obtained on three different days within a 4-week period. Variance and coefficient of variation (CV) were calculated for quadrantic and retinal nerve fiber layer clock hour sectors obtained from the baseline image. * RESULTS: Five normal eyes were scanned. Intraoperator reproducibility was high. The mean (±SD) CV for total retinal nerve fiber layer thickness was 5.3±3.82% and 4.33±3.7% for operators 1 and 2, respectively. Interoperator reproducibility was good with statistically similar variance for all quadrantic and clock hour retinal nerve fiber layer parameters (P=.42 to .99), The nasal retinal nerve fiber layer was the most variable sector for both operators (mean CV: 10.42% and 7.83% for operators 1 and 2, respectively). Differences in mean total, nasal, temporal, and superior retinal nerve fiber layer thickness were not statistically significant between operators for all eyes; however, for inferior retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, there was a significant (/^.0007) difference between operators in one eye. * CONCLUSION: Peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness assessments using optical coherence tomography have good intraoperator and interoperator reproducibility. Inexperienced operators can generate useful measurement data with acceptable levels of variance. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging 2003:34:33-37]