Retinal vessel density from optical coherence tomography angiography to differentiate early glaucoma, pre-perimetric glaucoma and normal eyes

PurposeTo evaluate optic nerve vascular density using swept source optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in patients with early primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), pre-perimetric glaucoma and normal eyes.MethodsThis is a prospective, observational study including 56 eyes in total and divided into 3 groups; 20 eyes with mild POAG, 20 pre-perimetric glaucoma eyes, and 16 age-matched normal eyes as controls. The optic disc region was imaged by a 1050-nm-wavelength swept-source OCT system (DRI OCT Triton, TOPCON). Vessel density was assessed as the ratio of the area occupied by the vessels in 3 distinct regions: 1) within the optic nerve head; 2) in the 3 mm papillary region around the optic disc; and 3) in the peripapillary region, defined as a 700-μm-wide elliptical annulus around the disc. The potential associations between vessel density and structural, functional measures were analyzed.ResultsThere was a statistically significant difference for the peripapillary vessel density, optic nerve head vessel density, and papillary vessel density among all the groups (pConclusionsEyes with mild POAG could be differentiated from pre-perimetric glaucoma eyes, which also could be differentiated from normal eyes using OCTA-derived retinal vessel density measurements.