Peripapillary Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness as a Predictor of Visual Outcomes in Patients with Acute Nonarteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the utility of peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (pRNFLT) for the prediction of visual outcomes, including visual acuity (VA) and visual field (VF), in subjects with acute nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective study of data relating to 60 eyes of 60 subjects with acute NAION. Of these, reliable VF values were obtained at both the initial and at 6-month follow-up visits for 30 eyes, which were included in the VF analysis. The pRNFLT was measured globally and separately in all four quadrants (superior, inferior, nasal, and temporal) using optical coherence tomography at the initial visit. Multivariate analysis and the area under the curve (AUC) were used to evaluate the utility of pRNFLT for the prediction of visual outcomes, including favorable VA (VA better than or equal to 20/25) and favorable VF (visual field index (VFI) ≥90%), at the 6-month follow-up visit.

RESULTS: The median VA and mean VFI at the initial visit were 0.40 (interquartile range (IQR): 0.40, 0.54; logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR)) and 73.07% ± 6.73%, respectively. The median VA and mean VFI at the 6-month follow-up visit were 0.30 (IQR: 0.00, 0.70) logMAR and 69.27% ± 28.94%, respectively. Thinner temporal-quadrant pRNFLT was associated with favorable VA (odds ratio 0.98; p = 0.042) with a cut-off value of 128 µm (AUC 0.839, 95% CI: 0.732-0.947, sensitivity 77.27%, specificity 84.21%). Thinner nasal-quadrant pRNFLT was associated with favorable VF (odds ratio 0.97; p = 0.047) with a cut-off value of 105 µm (AUC 0.780, 95% CI: 0.612-0.948, sensitivity 90.00%, specificity 70.00%).

CONCLUSIONS: The pRNFLT is clinically useful for the prediction of visual outcomes in patients with acute NAION. A temporal-quadrant pRNFLT ≤128 µm and a nasal-quadrant pRNFLT ≤105 µm predict favorable VA and VF at the 6-month follow-up visit, respectively.