• Barbara Polaczek-Krupa, Iwona Grabska-Liberek, and Michał Kamiński.
• Department of Ophthalmology, Medical Centre of Postgraduate Education, Warsaw, Poland.
• Arch Med Sci. 2014 Feb 24; 10 (1): 104109104-9.

IntroductionRetinal thickness in primary open-angle glaucoma patients was determined to establish its correlation with advancement of glaucoma neuropathy.Material And MethodsOne hundred ninety-four patients (371 eyes, age 30-65 years) were divided in 3 groups including 50 patients with confirmed primary open-angle glaucoma, 67 primary open-angle glaucoma-suspected patients and 77 healthy persons (control group). The retinal foveola, foveal, peri-foveal and posterior pole average thickness values were determined with an RTA analyzer. For comparison, linear cup-to-disc diameter ratio (C/D), nerve fiber index (NFI) and mean defect of the retina sensitivity (MD) were also determined.ResultsStatistically highly significant differences in the retinal thickness and glaucoma parameters between the individual groups were observed. In the peri-foveal region, the retinal thickness in glaucoma patients was only 173.0 ±11.4 µm while in the healthy patients 201.1 ±13.1 µm. In the posterior pole region, the thickness values were only 168.1 ±11.3 µm and 195.7 ±12.3 µm, respectively. A moderate correlation between retinal thickness in peri-foveal and posterior pole regions and the C/D, NFI and MD parameters was also established (Pearson coefficients below -0.351 or above 0.284).ConclusionsThe retinal thickness in the peri-foveal and posterior pole regions depends on the degree of glaucoma advancement. This original observation may be a basis for acceptance of this method as a quite new tool in glaucoma diagnosis.

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