Influence of age-related macular degeneration on macular thickness measurement made with fourier-domain optical coherence tomography

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) on macular thickness measurement made with Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography (RTVue-OCT) to detect glaucoma.

Methods: : One nonglaucomatous eye of 79 white persons was imaged. This comprised 25 healthy eyes, 19 eyes with early/intermediate AMD (geographic atrophy excluded), 16 eyes with subfoveal choroidal neovascularization (CNV), and 19 CNV eyes after intravitreal antiangiogenic treatment [CNV-antivascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)].

Results: Compared with the age-matched controls, no difference in any nerve fiber layer and optic disc parameter was seen for any AMD group. No macular retinal segmentation error was detected in the control group. Localized inner retinal image segmentation errors topographically related to AMD were detected in 8 eyes with drusen (42.1%), all 16 CNV eyes (100%) and 17 eyes in the CNV-anti-VEGF group (89.5%; χ test, P<0.001 for all comparisons). The average macular thickness parameters did not differ between the control and the AMD groups (analysis of variance, P>0.05). In contrast, all pattern-based ganglion cell complex (GCC) parameters were significantly higher (more abnormal) in the CNV and CNV-anti-VEGF group than in the control eyes (Mann-Whitney test, Bonferroni correction, P<0.001). For GCC focal loss volume, the only pattern-based parameter classified by the software, the frequency of "borderline" and "outside normal limits" classifications was significantly greater in each AMD group than in the control group (χ test, Bonferroni correction, P ≤0.03).

Conclusions: In nonglaucomatous eyes, AMD significantly influences the pattern-based inner macular thickness parameters of the RTVue optical coherence tomograph and the software-provided classification of GCC focal loss volume, for detection of glaucoma.