Pulsar Perimetry, Optical Coherence Tomography, And Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography In Diagnosing Pre-Perimetric And Perimetric Glaucoma

The purpose of this article is to investigate the diagnostic value of Pulsar perimetry (PP), optical coherence tomography (OCT), and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in pre-perimetric glaucoma (PPG) and perimetric glaucoma (PG).

Due to the limitations of current instruments, it is important to evaluate the full dimensions of parameters, including structural, functional, and vascular changes associated with the detection of early glaucoma. The aim of this study is to compare the diagnostic value of Pulsar perimetry with parameters of OCT and OCTA for pre-perimetric and perimetric glaucoma and to investigate the correlation of the above parameters in the patients of PPG.

This retrospective cross-sectional study included 202 eyes (145 eyes in the control group, 40 eyes in the PPG group, and 17 eyes in the PG group) from 105 subjects. The results were analyzed by paired t-tests and Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity, and specificity were used to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy. Pearson correlation was used to investigate the relationships of each parameter.

The most sensitive parameters for differentiating the control group from the PPG group by using Pulsar, OCT, and OCTA were square loss variance of PP (AUC=0.673, p<0.001), superior ganglion cell complex thickness (AUC=0.860, p<0.001), and superior-hemi retina thickness (AUC=0.817, p<0.001). In the PG group, the most sensitive parameters were mean defect of PP (AUC=0.885, p<0.001), whole image of ganglion cell complex thickness (AUC=0.847, p<0.001), and perifoveal retina thickness (AUC= 0.833, p<0.001). The mean defect of PP was significantly correlated with vascular parameters (radial peripapillary capillary, p=0.008; vessel density of macular superficial vascular complex, p=0.001; vessel density of macular deep vascular complex, p=0.002).

In conclusion, structural measurements using OCT were more sensitive than vascular measurements of OCTA and functional measurements of PP for PPG, while PP was more sensitive than the structural and vascular measurements for PG. The mean defect of PP was also shown to be highly correlated with the reduction of vessel density.