Better performance of RTVue than Cirrus spectral-domain optical coherence tomography in detecting band atrophy of the optic nerve.

BACKGROUND

To assess the agreement and diagnostic performance between retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness measurements obtained using the Cirrus (Carl Zeiss Meditec) and RTVue (Optovue Inc.) devices for detection of band atrophy (BA) in patients with permanent temporal hemianopia.

METHODS

In this retrospective study, 26 eyes with BA and 64 control eyes were enrolled. The Cirrus optic disc cube protocol and the RTVue optic nerve head map protocol were used. The Cirrus measurements were extracted and regrouped to be topographically matched with the RTVue measurements. Concordance correlation and 95 % limits of agreement were assessed. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) and the Spearman's correlation coefficient between average Humphrey total deviation in the temporal hemifield and average RNFL thickness were calculated.

RESULTS

RTVue measured consistently thicker values than Cirrus in controls, whereas in eyes with BA, nasal segment measurements from the RTVue were thinner than those obtained using the Cirrus. Each quadrant showed moderate to close agreement in controls, whereas in eyes with BA, the nasal and temporal quadrants exhibited poor agreement. The RTVue measurements demonstrated significantly higher AUCs for nasal segments just above (0.95) and below (0.96) the horizontal meridian than Cirrus measurements (0.80 and 0.66, respectively) and a significant correlation with visual field loss (r(s) = 0.46, P = 0.02 for RTVue vs. r(s) = 0.26, P = 0.22 for Cirrus).

CONCLUSIONS

The RTVue RNFL thickness measurements in nasal sectors showed better diagnostic performance in detecting BA and higher correlations with temporal hemianopia than the Cirrus measurements.