Utility of combining spectral domain optical coherence tomography structural parameters for the diagnosis of early Glaucoma: a mini-review

Abstract

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has moved to the forefront of imaging modalities in the management of glaucoma and retinal diseases. It is modifying how glaucoma and glaucoma progression are diagnosed clinically and augmenting our understanding of the disease. OCT provides multiple parameters from various anatomic areas for glaucoma diagnosis, evaluation of treatment efficacy, and progression monitoring. While the use of multiple parameters has increased the likelihood of detecting early structural changes, diagnosing glaucoma in early stages is often challenging when the damages are subtle and not apparent on OCT scans, in addition to the fact that assessment of OCT parameters often yields conflicting findings. One promising approach is to combine multiple individual parameters into a composite parameter from the same test to improve diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity. This review presents current evidence regarding the value of spectral domain OCT composite parameters in diagnosing early glaucoma.