Yh. Kwon et al., Correlation of automated visual field parameters and peripapillary nerve fiber layer thickness as measured by scanning laser polarimetry, J GLAUCOMA, 9(4), 2000, pp. 281-288
Purpose: To correlate Humphrey visual field mean sensitivity and peripapill
ary nerve fiber layer thickness as measured by scanning laser polarimetry.
Methods: The authors studied 54 eyes of 34 patients who visited a universit
y-based glaucoma clinic and had undergone scanning laser polarimetry and Hu
mphrey perimetry within 6 months. The study population included normal pati
ents and those with glaucoma, ocular hypertension, and glaucoma suspect. Th
e authors correlated visual field sensitivity with peripapillary nerve fibe
r thickness, and visual field mean deviation with the average deviation fro
m the normal nerve fiber layer thickness. They also correlated the visual f
ield mean deviation with all available GDx Nerve Fiber Analyzer parameters.
Results: The visual field mean sensitivity and deviation showed a bilinear
correlation to peripapillary nerve fiber layer thickness. The visual field
mean sensitivity changed little when the nerve fiber layer thickness was gr
eater than 70 mu m. The nerve fiber layer thickness below this level was as
sociated with a rapid decrease in the visual field sensitivity. Similarly,
the visual field mean deviation was close to 0 dB when the nerve fiber laye
r was within -10 mu m of the normal value; below this thickness, the mean d
eviation became substantially more negative. There was a large individual v
ariability around the bilinear fit. Of the scanning laser polarimetry param
eters, a calculated index, referred to as the number, had the highest corre
lation with the Humphrey mean deviation.
Conclusion: The bilinear correlation and its variability between the scanni
ng laser polarimetry and visual field parameters make it difficult to predi
ct the result of one from the other. In general, the correlation between th
e two is better when there is a significant visual field defect than when t
he visual field is close to normal.