Quantitative mapping of the retinal thickness at the posterior pole in chronic open angle glaucoma.

The sensitivity of a new device, which is able to measure the thickness of the retina at the posterior pole (Retinal Thickness Analyzer), was assessed in a group of 21 glaucomatous patients, and in 24 patients with ocular hypertension. The specificity of RTA was evaluated in a control group of normal eyes. Of the glaucomatous eyes, 57.6% had a significant reduction in retinal thickness, while another 30.3% were borderline. In the ocular hypertension group, 37.5% of eyes were abnormal, and 45.8% were borderline. In the control group, no eye was abnormal, though 42.9% had borderline alterations. In many glaucomatous eyes (81.8%) there was a relationship between retinal thickness loss and visual field defects.