Intra- and interobserver reproducibility of Bruch's membrane opening minimum rim width measurements with spectral domain optical coherence tomography

Acta Ophthalmol. 2017 Nov;95(7):e548-e555. doi: 10.1111/aos.13464. Epub 2017 Jun 26.

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the reproducibility of Bruch's membrane opening minimum rim width (BMO-MRW) and retinal nerve fibre layer thickness (RNFLT) measurements using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Additionally, to investigate the reproducibility of BMO area measurements and fovea to BMO centre (FoBMO) angle.

Methods: Participants were healthy subjects (n = 30) and patients with glaucoma (n = 26). One eye of each participant was scanned to obtain optic nerve head (24 radial B-scans) and peripapillary (one circular B-scan) images by three independent examiners. Additionally, one examiner imaged each participant three times on the same day. Intra- and interobserver reproducibilities were estimated by within-subject standard deviation (SW) and coefficient of variation (COV). Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was used to test the correlation between the magnitude of the parameter and its standard deviation.

Results: The global BMO-MRW COVs (%) in healthy/glaucoma subjects were 0.87/1.34 and 1.28/3.13 for intra- and interobserver analyses, respectively, and the corresponding global RNFLT figures were 1.50/2.10 and 2.04/2.87. Global mean BMO-MRW and RNFLT showed no correlation with their respective standard deviations. The reproducibilities of BMO area and FoBMO angle were excellent and similar between the groups.

Conclusion: The reproducibilities of BMO-MRW, BMO area measurements and FoBMO angle were excellent in both healthy subjects and patients with glaucoma. Bruch's membrane opening minimum rim width (BMO-MRW) reproducibility is comparable to that of RNFLT measurements.

Keywords: glaucoma; neuroretinal rim; optic nerve head; optical coherence tomography; reproducibility.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Bruch Membrane / pathology*
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Female
  • Glaucoma, Open-Angle / diagnosis*
  • Glaucoma, Open-Angle / physiopathology
  • Humans
  • Intraocular Pressure*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Nerve Fibers / pathology
  • Optic Disk / pathology
  • ROC Curve
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Retinal Ganglion Cells / pathology*
  • Tomography, Optical Coherence / methods*
  • Visual Fields*