Intereye comparison of visual field progression in eyes with open-angle glaucoma.

PURPOSE: To investigate the intereye correlations between and differences in the rates of visual field (VF) progression in eyes with bilateral open-angle glaucoma. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective, longitudinal, observational study. METHODS: Patients with bilateral open-angle glaucoma with 8 or more reliable 30 - 2 standard automated perimetry tests over a period of more than 2 years were enrolled. The rate of change of the MD (MD slope) was used as the indicator for the rates of VF progression. Descriptive statistics of the absolute intereye difference in the MD slope values were computed. Factors associated with a large intereye difference (> 0.42 dB/year) were explored. RESULTS: One hundred eighty-eight eyes from 94 patients (56 women) were enrolled. A significant intereye correlation of the rates of visual field progression (P = .002) was found. The mean ± standard deviation and median intereye differences of the MD slope values were 0.29 ± 0.31 and 0.18 dB/year (range: 0-1.41), respectively. The 5th, 10th, 25th, 75th, 90th, and 95th percentiles of intereye differences were 0.01, 0.02, 0.08, 0.42, 0.72, and 0.91 dB/year, respectively. Older age and slower progression were significantly associated with large intereye difference. CONCLUSION: A significant intereye correlation in the rate of VF progression was found in eyes with bilateral open-angle glaucoma. We showed the distributions and associated factors of intereye differences in VF progression. These data may be used for improving the estimation of rates of VF progression.

Evaluating Visual Field Progression in Advanced Glaucoma Using Trend Analysis of Targeted Mean Total Deviation.

PURPOSE: Trend analysis of visual field (VF) global indices may underestimate the rate of progression in severe glaucoma because of the influence of test points without detectable sensitivity. To test this hypothesis, we compared the rates of change of VF global indices with and without exclusion of undetectable points at various disease stages. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Six hundred and forty-eight eyes of 366 glaucoma patients with 8 or more reliable 30-2 standard automated perimetry over more than 2 years were enrolled. We calculated targeted mean total deviation (TMTD) by averaging total deviation except points which were consistently undetectable in 3 baseline tests. Eyes were classified as early (≥-6 dB), moderate (-6 dB to -12 dB), advanced (-12 dB to -20 dB), and severe (<-20 dB) based on baseline mean deviation (MD). The rates of change of MD and TMTD in each stage were statistically compared. RESULTS: Mean age±SD at baseline was 56.9±11.9 years. The MD slope (-0.34 dB/y) in severe glaucoma was significantly slower than TMTD slope (-0.42 dB/y, P=0.028) and was slower than MD slopes in the other stages. Difference between MD slopes and TMTD slopes was most prominent in eyes with MD values less than -25 dB (P=0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Undetectable locations in eyes with severe glaucoma may underestimate the rates of VF progression. Trend analysis of TMTD rather than global indices offers a practical and simple approach for alleviating underestimation of VF progression in severe glaucoma.

Comparison of ocular surface squamous neoplasia and pterygium using anterior segment optical coherence tomography angiography.

PURPOSE: To compare ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) and pterygium using anterior segment optical coherence tomography angiography (AS-OCTA). OBSERVATIONS: Flow patterns of conjunctival vessels in patients with OSSN and pterygium were investigated using AS-OCTA. In case 1, slit-lamp examination of a 72-year-old woman revealed an elevated lesion with increased permeability of fluorescein in the inferior nasal conjunctiva of her left eye. AS-OCTA showed markedly meandering large blood vessels in both the superficial and deep layers. Histopathological evaluation of the conjunctival biopsy indicated conjunctival intraepithelial neoplasia. Case 2 was that of a 79-year-old man with a history of three conjunctival tumor excisions. Slit-lamp examination showed an elevated lesion with hyperpermeability of fluorescein in the nasal conjunctiva of his left eye. AS-OCTA revealed increased meandering vasculature in both the superficial and deep layers. Histopathological investigation concluded that the diagnosis was squamous cell carcinoma. Case 3 involved a 61-year-old man with a pterygium. Slit-lamp examination showed typical findings of an elevated nasal lesion accompanied by a head that appeared triangular with a blunt apex. AS-OCTA revealed increased straight vasculature in the superficial layer and an avascular area in the deep layer of the pterygium head. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPORTANCE: AS-OCTA revealed abnormal "zigzag vessel patterns" in both the superficial and deep layers denoting meandering vessels in the patients with OSSN. In the patient with the pterygium, it showed "straight vessel patterns" signifying unbending stretched vessels in the superficial layer and an avascular zone in the deep layer of the pterygium head. These findings may be useful for the differential diagnosis of OSSN and pterygium.

Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography in Patients Following Cultivated Oral Mucosal Epithelial Transplantation.

PURPOSE: To analyze corneal neovascularization using anterior segment optical coherence tomography angiography (AS-OCTA) in patients following cultivated oral mucosal epithelial sheet transplantation (COMET). DESIGN: Observational case series. METHODS: Nine eyes in 7 patients were analyzed. Four images of corneal quadrant were obtained by AS-OCTA from each patient during follow-up post-COMET in the Department of Ophthalmology at Osaka University Hospital. The depth of corneal neovascularization was evaluated using en face and B-scan images. Each quadrant image was classified as 1 of the following 5 types: stromal, predominantly stromal, epithelial, predominantly epithelial, or avascular. The image quality of slit-lamp photography and AS-OCTA was graded from 0 to 4. Manually segmented images of the epithelial and stromal vessels were obtained. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Depth and image quality of corneal neovascularization following COMET. RESULTS: Six patients were male and 1 was female. The mean patient age was 61.3 ± 19.1 years. Thirty-six quadrant images were obtained, of which 4 (11.1%) were stromal, 16 (44.4%) were predominantly stromal, 3 (8.3%) were epithelial, 11 (30.6%) were predominantly epithelial, and 2 (5.6%) were avascular. The image quality obtained by AS-OCTA was significantly better than that obtained by slit-lamp photography (2.38 ± 0.94 vs 2.03 ± 0.90; P = .021). Segmentation images clearly demonstrated both epithelial and stromal vasculatures individually. CONCLUSIONS: AS-OCTA is useful for evaluation of depth of corneal neovascularization and has the potential to distinguish between conjunctivalization and stromal neovascularization following COMET. Findings on AS-OCTA could contribute to clinical decision making, given that retreatment is required for conjunctivalization after COMET.