Exam 1 Flashcards
What does OCT look at?
- Retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL)
- Optic nerve head
-Looks for a loss of tissue
Thinning on OCT
- Inferior thinning corresponds with a superior defect
- thinning will be red
What test looks at macular region?
Ganglion cell Analysis (GCA)
Visual field combined report
- Combines VF and OCT so you can correlate and compare
- if the info conflicts with each other, less sure of the diagnosis
- allows for comparison of structural dmg to fxnal loss
What determines the stage of glaucoma a patient has?
- VF loss
- how close it is to fixation
What is the coding system for the stages of glaucoma?
-VF ONLY
Better term for glaucoma suspect
open angle with borderline findings
Glaucoma and patient education
- educate but don’t overwhelm at first visit.
- interaction is patient dependent
- the disease is life long and can never go away. Will need treatment for the rest of their life
History of Glaucoma diagnosis
- pre 1980s –> elevated IOP meant glaucoma
- 1980s to mid 1990s –> elevated IOP with VF defect meant glaucoma
- Mid 1990s to present –> glaucomatous optic disc AND RNFL loss with/without VF defect means glaucoma (IOP is NOT included in the definition anymore)
Why do you not have to have a VF defect to have glaucoma
-VF defects are not always present at the beginning stages of the defect
structure vs. function
Function: -visual fields/perimetry -functionally assesses patient's vision Structure: -OCT devices scan structure and anatomy (RNFL, ONH, etc)
cupping
- implies loss of tissue to neuroretinal rim (made up of retinal ganglion cell axons)
- cup enlarges due to the loss of tissue (the loss of tissue is what impairs vision)
VF in glaucoma
- key baseline work-up/evaluation of someone suspected to have glaucoma
- used regularly and repeatedly to monitor change over time
- needed to assess what is a true glaucomatous defect
What comes first: structural damage or functional loss?
- USUALLY structural: RNFL injury observed up to 6 years before VF defects
- eyes with mild VF loss have already lost many axons (the most mild VF loss associated with 10-50% axon loss
What is used to identify functional loss?
- Standard automated perimetry (SAP)
- Short wave automated perimetry (SWAP)
- Frequency doubling perimetry (FDP)
Standard automated perimetry
SAP
-white on white perimetry (ie Humphrey Visual field)
Short wave automated perimetry (SWAP)
- no longer used
- blue light on yellow backgroun
frequency doubling perimetry
FDP
-screen VF
Normal vs early vs advanced glaucoma optic nerve
early
- enlargement of cup due to loss of tissue
- changes to lamina cribrosa
advanced
- severe excavation and loss of tissue
- loss of GC axons leading to VF loss, blindness and functional impairment of patient’s vision
Structural damage and the progression to functional vision loss
Undectable 1. Normal 2. acceleration of apoptosis 3. ganglion cell death/axon loss 4. RNFL change (undectable ) Asymptomatic 5. RNFL change (detectable) 6. short wavelength automated perimetry VF changes
Functional Impairment
- Standard automated perimetry VF change
- VF change (moderate)
- VF change (severe)
- Blindness
Glaucoma risk factors
- IOP
- C/D ratio
- CCT
- Age
POAG prevalence in the US 40 years and older
about 2%
Overall affects 2.22 million people (half are undiagnosed)
glaucoma and diagnosis
- we can treat glc in every state
- it is our legal responsibility
- if we miss a diagnosis, we can get sued
Glc definition
Glaucoma is a FAMILY of diseases in which an optic neuropathy develops that is manifested by the death of ganglion cell axons, which results in excavation of the optic nerve head
This damage causes characteristics nerve fiber bundle defects which lead to visual field loss and other abnormalities of visual function.
more common among those persons with elevated intraocular pressure, however a significant number of individuals will develop the same type of neuropathy with consistently normal intraocular pressures
What to emphasize when explaining glc
- primarily a disease of the optic nerve (blindness results from nerve damage and not necessarily from elevated IOP
- appearance and function of the optic nerve are the main factors in managing any patient with glc
- Any IOP can be misleading
Glc classification
- Primary
- Secondary
- Developmental
Primary glc
- open angle
- Primary open angle glc (POAG)
- normal tension glc (NTG)
- closed angle
- Primary Angle closure glc (PACG)
- acute angle closure (AAC)
Secondary glc
-increased intraocular pressure and glaucomatous changes which are a direct result of some other ocular or systemic abnormality
Types:
-open angle
-closed angle
Developmental glc
primary
secondary
less common than the others
Primary Open Angle Glaucoma
POAG
-patient has been examined and secondary glc mechanisms have been ruled out (ie narrow angles or angle recession)
Secondary open angle glaucoma
pigmentary exfoliation uveitic angle recession etc
Secondary closed angle glaucoma
neovascular uveitic subluxed lens iridocorneal endothelial syndrome (ICE) ocular tumors etc
Types of developmental glaucoma
congenital glc juvenile open angle glc aniridia axenfeld-reiger syndrome Marfan's Syndrome Microcornea micropthalmus Sturge-Weber syndrome Peter's anomaly neurofibromatosis
Requirements for diagnosing POAG
- GLAUCOMATOUS damage to the optic nerve head
AND/OR - GLAUCOMATOUS visual field defects
WITH
- elevated IOP (>21 mm Hg) with open angles and normal anterior segment (no secondary mechanisms)
What is considered an elevated IOP for POAG
> 21 mm Hg
Ocular hypertension
OHTN
IOP repeatedly over 21 mm Hg
AND
NO glaucomatous changes to the optic nerve head/nerve fiber layer/visual field
OHTN patients that develop glc
- 0.3 to 10% with OHTN will develop glc
- 1 to 2% with OHTN convert per year
- 90% with OHTN never develop glc
OHTN key risk factor
pachymetry (ie thickness of the cornea)
Normal Tension Glaucoma
NTG
AKA low tensioon glc
-neuropathy and VF loss develops in the absence of IOP greater than 21 mm Hg
-usually caused by poor blood flow that doesn’t serve the needs of ganglion cell axons
Diagnosis of NTG
- used to be diagnosis of exclusion
- now the disease is more common
NTG treatment
- Still a significant challenge
- still lower IOPs (has been proven to be helpful by slowing progression, but it is more difficult)
Glaucoma Suspect
-findings suspicious for glc without definitive damage
Glaucoma suspect HVF or RNFL OCT
- not enough to be definitively glc, but enough to be suspicious
- falls into a gray area
Glaucoma suspect ONH
- one of the main triggers for labeling and diagnosing as suspect
- large C/D
Glaucoma suspect family history
-patient may be normal but due to strong family history may be labeled as glaucoma suspect
Glaucoma suspect IOP
-elevated WITH additional suspicious findings
Glaucoma suspect based on ONH cupping
- healthy ONH with physiologically large C/D ratio often corresponding with a larger ONH size
- large C/D ratio may be a normal variation for a pt
- Normal IOP
- Order VF or RNFL OCT
- monitor patient over time if there is still a risk for disease
Physiologic Cupping
- healthy ONH
- Physiologic C/D ratio
- not considered at risk
- noted in posterior exam findings, not specifically assess in assessment and plan
- can be genetic
- large discs have large cups
POAG/NTG characteristics
- bilateral but often asymmetric (not same level of disease in each eye)
- chronic; doesn’t go away, not curable
- slowly progressing (usually)
- ONH cupping (excavation and loss of ON tissue
- GLAUCOMATOUS RNFL and VF loss
What percent of people in the US are undiagnosed and unaware of condition
50%
Glaucoma as cause of blindness
2nd leading cause world wide #1 cause of vision loss in African Americans
Worldwide glaucoma stats
- 65 million people affected
- 44 million with open-angle
- 21 million with angle-closure
- 10 million bilaterally blind (10% of the open angle patients; 25% of the angle closure patients)
Rotterdam Study
determined that family history alone cannot account for the observed proportion of the disease suggesting that non-genetic factors play a significant role in overall occurrence of glc
-the lifetime absolute risk of glc at age 80 is almost 10x higher in patients having relatives with glc
Diabetes as a risk factor for glc
about 1.35x greater risk
- not the strongest risk factor we look at
- only considered a MODEST risk factor compared to family history and CCT
Studies that look at diabetes and glc
Beaver Dam Eye Study
Blue Mountain Eye Study
Nurses’ health study
Los Angeles Latino Eye Study
-does not provide a definitive link between DM and POAG
-vascular dysregulation has a component in glc but is likely NOT a sole, initiating cause of glc
Systemic blood pressure
- controversial
- no associations in several studies
- HTN may be protective (more blood to optic nerve helps protect retinal ganglion cells)
- HypoTN is a factor in ocular perfusion pressure (less blood flow, more damaging)
Strongest risk factor correlation to glc
IOP
- higher pressure means greater risk
- BUT most patients with IOP>21 mmHg will not develop glc
True/False: Increased C/D ratio is a definitive risk for glc
FALSE
not definitive
Optic disc parameters
- C/D ratio
- NFL integrity
- Neural retinal rim
- asymmetry is an important feature
Expected C/D ratios from vertical height of discs
Height (mm)-->Expected C/D 2.4-->0.8 2.2-->0.6 2.0-->0.4 1.8-->0.2 1.6-->0.0 for ever .2 the height drops, the C/D drops by .2
Refractive error and glc
- myopia 2x more common amoung POAG patients (may be selection bias since myopes seek eye exams more than hyperopes or emmetropes)
- very high myopes (> -14 D) are definitely at high risk
Pachymetry
- measures CCT
- Thinner corneas increase risk of developing glc from OHTN
- Thinner cornea indicates higher true GAT on average
- POSSIBLE anatomic weakness in the ONH or laminar region (not proven)
Which combo of ONH size and C/D ratio is the most concerning?
a. 1.8 mm / 0.3 C/D
b. 1.9 mm / 0.7 C/D
c. 2.2 mm / 0.6 C/D
d. 2.4 mm / 0.8 C/D
B.
smaller disc size with a large cup
Global Risk Assessment
- Estimates patient’s overall risk for onset and progression based on MULTIPLE rather than single risk factors
- Ideally based on evidence from well controlled clinical trials and long term studies
- Used for many diseases other than glc
- helps guide treatment
Global Risk Calculator for OHTN
- identifies the global risk of developing glc in the next 5 years (so it must be repeated)
- identify who will benefit from treatment
- calculator is accurate and has been validated
- answer is given at the bottom in a %
Factors: untreated IOP (3 from dif visit) CCT Vertical C/D Pattern SD (HVF)
What percentage of VF defects go away after 3 tests?
85%
early stage VF defects are not permanent
aqueous humor production
in the pigmented epithelium of the CB iris processes via Na/K/Cl symport. Relies on carbonic anhydrase
-CB stroma has a net + charge
Aqueous humor flow
- CB processes
- posterior chamber
- iris and lens
- through pupil
- anterior chamber
- Exit via Trabecular or uveoscleral outflow