Quantitative analysis of retinal layers on three-dimensional spectral-domain optical coherence tomography for pituitary adenoma

PURPOSE: To quantitatively investigate the characteristics of eyes with pituitary adenoma presented by three-dimensional (3D) spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) using three common indices, including thickness, optical intensity ratio, and optical intensity attenuation coefficient (OIAC). METHODS: The SD-OCT database of 38 patients with pituitary adenoma and 39 normal controls were included in the study. Quadrantal and average measurements of thickness, optical intensity ratio, and OIAC were calculated for macular retinal nerve fiber layer (mRNFL), ganglion cell layer (GCL) combined with inner plexiform layer (IPL) (GCIPL) and/or the collective ganglion cell complex (GCC). The parameters of patients and controls were compared by unpaired t-test and Mann-Whitney U-test. The relationships between the optical intensity ratio and the thickness of mRNFL and GCIPL were evaluated by Pearson’s correlation. Diagnostic performances of these indices were assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. RESULTS: Significant decreases in thickness existed in the mRNFL and nasal GCC of patients compared with controls (p-values of 0.000 to 0.039). Optical intensity ratios in the relevant retinal layers of patients were almost all lower than those of controls. In patients, optical intensities were increased in the mRNFL but decreased in the GCIPL along with an increase of retinal thicknesses. The OIAC measurements were significantly higher in the upper quadrants and global average of the mRNFL in patients. The areas under the ROC curves (AUC) obtained by global average mRNFL thickness was significantly greater than that of the global average OIAC in the mRNFL (p = 0.0265). CONCLUSIONS: Thicknesses of the mRNFL and nasal GCC were significantly decreased in the retinas of patients with pituitary adenoma compared with controls. The differences of the optical intensity ratio and OIAC between patients and controls were not all statistically significant. Thickness was more sensitive than optical characteristics indices in distinguishing pituitary adenoma from controls.