Preperimetric glaucoma diagnosis by confocal scanning laser tomography of the optic disc

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Abstract
AIM To evaluate the ability of confocal scanning laser tomography of the optic nerve head to detect glaucomatous optic nerve damage in ocular hypertensive eyes without visual field defects. METHODS The study included 50 normal subjects, 61 glaucoma patients with glaucomatous changes in the optic disc and visual field, and 102 “preperimetric” patients with increased intraocular pressure, normal visual fields, and glaucomatous appearance of the optic disc as evaluated on colour stereo optic disc photographs. For all individuals, confocal scanning laser tomographs of the optic nerve head were taken using the Heidelberg retina tomograph (HRT; software 2.01). RESULTS Almost all investigated HRT variables varied significantly (pCONCLUSIONS Owing to pronounced overlapping between the groups, confocal scanning laser tomography of the optic nerve head has relatively low diagnostic power to differentiate between normal eyes and preperimetric glaucoma eyes. One of the reasons may be the biological interindividual variability of quantitative optic disc variables.