Comparison of Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer and Ganglion Cell-Inner Plexiform Layer Thickness Values Using Spectral-Domain and Swept-Source OCT.

Purpose

To compare peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) and macular ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (mGCIPL) thickness measurements obtained with spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and swept-source OCT (SS-OCT) using an OCT-angiography scanning protocol, and their ability to distinguish among patients with glaucoma, glaucoma suspects (GS), and healthy controls (HC).

Methods

Cross-sectional study of 196 eyes (81 glaucoma, 48 GS, and 67 HC) of 119 participants. Participants underwent peripapillary and macular OCT with SD-OCT and SS-OCT. Parameters of interest were average and sector-wise pRNFL and mGCIPL thickness. Inter-device agreement was investigated with Bland-Altman statistics. Conversion formulas were developed with linear regression. Diagnostic performances were evaluated with area under the receiver operating characteristic curves.

Results

Both SD-OCT and SS-OCT detected a significant pRNFL and mGCIPL thinning in glaucoma patients compared to HC and GS for almost all study sectors. A strong linear relationship between the two devices was present for all quadrants/sectors (R2 ≥ 0.81, P < 0.001), except for the nasal (R2 = 0.49, P < 0.001) and temporal (R2 = 0.62, P < 0.001) pRNFL quadrants. SD-OCT and SS-OCT measurements had a proportional bias, which could be removed with conversion formulas. Overall, the two devices showed similar diagnostic abilities.

Conclusions

Thickness values obtained with SD-OCT and SS-OCT are not directly interchangeable but potentially interconvertible. Both devices have a similar ability to discriminate glaucoma patients from GS and healthy subjects.

Translational relevance: OCT-Angiography scans can be reliably used to obtain structural metrics in glaucoma patients.