Oxygen saturation levels in the juxta-papillary retina in eyes with glaucoma

Oxygen saturation (OS) levels in the juxta-papillary retina particularly inferotemporal retina were investigated in open-angle glaucoma (OAG) patients as well as normal subjects. Fifty-six eyes of 56 OAG Japanese patients and 20 eyes of 20 age-matched normal subjects were recruited for the study. OAG eyes (56) were subdivided into two groups: 15 eyes of low-tension (LT) subgroup and 41 eyes of high-tension (HT) subgroup. The average of age of the LT, HT subgroup and normal group were 60.5, 55.9 and 52.6 years, respectively. OS levels in the retina were measured using a Fourier transform-based spectral retinal imaging (SRI) system (Retinal Cube; ASI Co. Migdal Hemak, Israel), with which OS levels in the fundus could be computed at every pixel point of a 35 degrees fundus image. We calculated OS levels at five points in the retina near the optic disc and retinal arteries and veins in all eyes. The OS levels were also compared with the results analyzed using Humphrey visual field Analyzer with the program 30-2 SITA. At the superior and nasal juxta-papillary retinal points, OS level of the LT subgroup showed significant decrease as compared with the HT subgroup and the normal group (p = 0.048-0.009). The LT and the HT subgroups were significantly lower than the normal group at the inferotemporal and the average of the retinal points (p = 0.047-0.001). There were no statistically significant differences among the three groups in regards to the OS in the retinal artery. There was a statistical significant correlation between the mean of total deviation of the 17 points in the upper arcuate area and OS of the inferotemporal point (p = 0.018), and between mean deviation and the average of OS of the inferotemporal and the superotemporal point (p = 0.037) in the HT subgroup. However, there was no significant correlation in the LT subgroup. OS levels in the retina were especially decreased in the low-tension glaucoma subtype. There was a correlation between the visual field defect and OS in the HT eyes in the inferotemporal region. OS measurement may be a novel adjunct to study glaucoma patients.