Investigating the Structural and Functional Changes in the Optic Nerve in Patients with Early Glaucoma Using the Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and RETeval System

The present manuscript introduces an investigation of the structural and functional changes in the optic nerve in patients undergoing glaucoma treatment by comparing optical coherence tomography (OCT) measurements and RETeval system parameters. For such a purpose, 140 eyes were examined at the Ophthalmology Clinic of the Elpis General Hospital of Athens between October 2022 and April 2023. A total of 59 out of 140 eyes were from patients with early glaucoma under treatment (case group), 63 were healthy eyes (control group) and 18 were excluded. The experimental measurements were statistically analyzed using the SPSS software package. The main outcomes are summarized below: (i) there was no statistical difference between the right and left eye for both groups, (ii) statistical differences were found between age interval subgroups (30-54 and 55-80 years old) for the control group, mainly for the time response part of the RETeval parameters. Such difference was not indicated by the OCT system, and (iii) a statistical difference occurred between the control and case group for both OCT (through the retinal nerve fiber layer-RNFL thickness) and the RETeval parameters (through the photopic negative response-PhNR). RNFL was found to be correlated to b-wave (ms) and W-ratio parameters. In conclusion, the PhNR obtained by the RETeval system could be a valuable supplementary tool for the objective examination of patients with early glaucoma.

Automated summary

The study investigated the changes in the optic nerve of glaucoma patients undergoing treatment by comparing OCT measurements and RETeval parameters. A total of 140 eyes were examined, with 59 eyes from patients with early glaucoma under treatment and 63 healthy eyes as the control group. The results showed that OCT and RETeval parameters exhibited statistical differences between the control and case group, suggesting their potential as valuable tools for examining early glaucoma patients.