Capillary Dropout at the Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Defect in Glaucoma: An Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Study.

Abstract

To investigate the microvasculature changes of retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) defects in glaucoma. The study design is a case report. Four glaucomatous eyes were included in this observational cross-sectional study. The microvasculature changes of RNFL defects were examined using optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography. Three eyes had apparent wedge-shaped capillary dropout on OCT angiography. In the fourth eye, detection of wedge-shaped capillary loss was difficult because of overall capillary drop out due to advanced glaucoma. Capillary dropout detection by OCT angiography was correlated with visual field loss and RNFL defect detection by regular OCT. Compared with regular OCT used to obtain retinal thickness maps, OCT angiography is often better at visualizing the borders of lesions in the RNFL. OCT angiography can detect capillary dropout in RNFL defects in glaucomatous eyes, and therefore could be a useful glaucoma examination tool.