To evaluate the retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in different types of glaucoma

Objective: Glaucoma is a multifaceted eye disease which is classified as physical damage of retinal ganglion cells which may effect in loss of vision and permanent blindness. While physical damage of glaucoma can be clinically evaluated the optic nerve head and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL). Our objective is to evaluate the mean RNFL thickness in all types of glaucoma. Methodology: This prospective and cross sectional study was conducted in Glaucoma Clinic of Al Ibrahim Eye Hospital (AIEH), Karachi, for the period from May 2019 to October 2019, after ethical approval from Institutional Research Committee. A total of 64 glaucoma patients were chosen by using non-probability purposive sampling technique. The participant comprised, no known eye disease, no visual impairment, IOP below 22 mmHg, and no obvious retinal disease or defect were included while individuals having a history of ocular diseases or pathology with residual visual impairment, retinal diseases, amblyopia, and history of intraocular surgery or laser therapy were excluded from the study. The collected data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Results: 64 patients of both genders with mean age of 55.54±15.58 years. The mean intraocular pressure of right eye and left eye was 16.46±8.06 and 16.75±7.82 mmHg, respectively. The mean RNFL thickness in superior, inferior, temporal and nasal quadrant of the right eye was measured 68.23±25.44, 66.79±27.50, 51.75±12.58 and 47.73±18.82 microns, respectively while the mean RNFL thickness in superior, inferior, temporal and nasal quadrant of the left eye was measured 76.01±22.72, 67.42±21.25, 54.37±13.0 and 49.62±11.57 microns, respectively. Conclusion: Our study showed that analysis of retinal nerve fiber layer thickness with optical coherence tomography is the best tool for the diagnosis of glaucoma. It has also been observed in our study that frequency of changes in retinal nerve fiber layer thickness was mostly found in primary open angle glaucoma patients