RESUMO
PURPOSE: To evaluate the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness with optical coherence tomography (OCT) in normal subjects and preperimetric glaucoma patients, as well as compare the results of OCT, short wavelength automated perimetry (SWAP), frequency doubling technology perimetry (FDT) in preperimetric glaucoma patients. METHODS: Thirty-six eyes of 36 preperimetric glaucoma patients who have definitive localized RNFL defects in disc photograph and normal standard visual field, as well as 35 eyes of 35 normal subjects, were enrolled in this study. We compared the peripapillary RNFL thickness between the two groups using Stratus OCT. Stratus OCT, FDT, and SWAP results in preperimetric glaucoma group were also compared. RESULTS: Compared with normal controls, peripapillary RNFL thickness, including the average, superior, and inferior quadrant, was significantly low (P<0.05) in the preperimetric glaucoma group, 93.40+/-11.16 micrometer, 118.33+/-21.17 micrometer, and 108.72+/-16.76 micrometer respectively. In preperimetric glaucoma group, functional and structural abnormalities were found in 55.6% with Stratus OCT, 31.4% with SWAP, and 79.4% with Matrix FDT. CONCLUSIONS: Statistically significant reduction of RNFL thickness was revealed in the preperimetric glaucoma group, and Matrix FDT was the most sensitive test for detecting early glaucomatous change, followed by Stratus OCT, and SWAP.