Faculty Collaboration Database

Optical coherence tomography measurements and analysis methods in optical coherence tomography studies of diabetic macular edema. Ophthalmology 2008 Aug;115(8):1366-71, 1371.e1

Date

08/05/2008

Pubmed ID

18675696

Pubmed Central ID

PMC2748270

DOI

10.1016/j.ophtha.2007.12.004

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-48149104805 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   146 Citations

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate optical coherence tomography (OCT) measurements and methods of analysis of OCT data in studies of diabetic macular edema (DME).

DESIGN: Associations of pairs of OCT variables and results of 3 analysis methods using data from 2 studies of DME.

PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred sixty-three subjects from a study of modified Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study (mETDRS) versus modified macular grid (MMG) photocoagulation for DME and 96 subjects from a study of diurnal variation of DME.

METHODS: Correlations were calculated for pairs of OCT variables at baseline and for changes in the variables over time. Distribution of OCT measurement changes, predictive factors for OCT measurement changes, and treatment group outcomes were compared when 3 measures of change in macular thickness were analyzed: absolute change in retinal thickness, relative change in retinal thickness, and relative change in retinal thickening.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Concordance of results using different OCT variables and analysis methods.

RESULTS: Center point thickness correlated highly with central subfield mean thickness (CSMT) at baseline (0.98-0.99). The distributions of changes in CSMT were approximately normally distributed for absolute change in retinal thickness and relative change in retinal thickness, but not for relative change in retinal thickening. Macular thinning in the mETDRS group was significantly greater than in the MMG group when absolute change in retinal thickness was used, but not when relative change in thickness and relative change in thickening were used. Relative change in macular thickening provides unstable data in eyes with mild degrees of baseline thickening, unlike the situation with absolute or relative change in retinal thickness.

CONCLUSIONS: Central subfield mean thickness is the preferred OCT measurement for the central macula because of its higher reproducibility and correlation with other measurements of the central macula. Total macular volume may be preferred when the central macula is less important. Absolute change in retinal thickness is the preferred analysis method in studies involving eyes with mild macular thickening. Relative change in thickening may be preferable when retinal thickening is more severe.

Author List

Browning DJ, Glassman AR, Aiello LP, Bressler NM, Bressler SB, Danis RP, Davis MD, Ferris FL, Huang SS, Kaiser PK, Kollman C, Sadda S, Scott IU, Qin H, Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network

Author

Thomas B. Connor MD Professor in the Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Circadian Rhythm
Data Interpretation, Statistical
Diabetic Retinopathy
Humans
Laser Coagulation
Macular Edema
Reproducibility of Results
Retina
Tomography, Optical Coherence