The Relationship Between Optic Disc and Retinal Artery Position and Glaucomatous Visual Field Progression

PURPOSE. To investigate whether retinal structural parameters, including positions of the optic disc and major retinal arteries, affect glaucomatous progression of the visual field (VF). METHODS. In this cohort study, 116 eyes of 73 patients with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) were included. VFs were measured using the Humphrey Field Analyzer 24-2 program and the VF was divided into seven sectors according to the corresponding optic disc angle. Average total deviation (TD) was calculated in each sector. Positions of major retinal arteries in the superotemporal and inferotemporal areas were decided by identifying the points where the retinal artery intersected the 3.4-mm-diameter circle around the optic disc. The relationship between sectorial TD VF progression rate and eight variables (age, mean and standard deviation of intraocular pressure during the observation period, baseline sectorial TD value, papillomacular bundle tilt angle, and axial length, along with superior/inferior arterial angle) was investigated. RESULTS. The main outcome measures were the association between retinal structural parameters and glaucomatous progression of VF. The superior retinal artery angular position was positively associated with sectorial TD progression rates in two central sectors in the inferior hemifield, which suggests faster VF progression where superior retinal artery angles are narrow. Papillomacular bundle tilt was not associated with TD progression rate in any sector. CONCLUSIONS. Progression of the inferior VF was associated with the superior retinal artery angular position in this study of POAG.

Automated summary

It was found in this study that retinal structural parameters, particularly the angular position of the superior retinal artery, were associated with the progression rate of visual field damage in glaucoma patients. However, there was no significant correlation between the tilt of the papillomacular bundle and progression rate.