Alteraciones estructurales del nervio óptico en pacientes con glaucoma determinadas mediante tomografía de coherencia óptica (OCT). Exilaser Clínica Oftalmológica. 2015-2022. Cuenca-Ecuador

Abstract

Background.- glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness. It is underdiagnosed until advanced stages because it is an asymptomatic pathology. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a tool that determines the early structural damage produced in the optic disc by glaucoma. Currently, it is difficult to find studies describing such alterations in the local people due to the databases are based on foreign studies. Objective.- to describe the structural alterations of the optic nerve in patients with glaucoma using OCT at the Exilaser Ophthalmology Clinic from 2015 to 2022. Methodology.- a quantitative, descriptive, and retrospective study was carried out. The information was collected from an anonymized database, with records of all glaucoma patients with OCT during that period. The results were tabulated in the statistical package "SPSS-21"; frequency, mean, standard deviation, and range tables were formulated. Results.- the average thickness of the global retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) of the study group was 73.06 μm ± 16.48 (34 - 116); in decreasing order, the most affected sections were inferior, superior, nasal, and temporal; the most frequently altered hour sectors were 1, 5, 7, 11 and 12. The average disc area was 2.66 μm and the cup disc was 1.67 μm. The vertical cup/disc ratio was found to be affected by 99.68 % of the cases. Conclusion. - In conclusion, both peripapillary RNFL and optic disc parameters in the glaucoma population decreased, and most were categorized as pathologic.