Ophthalmology Research: An International Journal

Purpose: To measure the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in normal paediatric population of rural India

Materials and Methods: 59 normal Indian children (117 eyes) of age range 5­17 years presenting to the Pediatric Clinic were included in this Observational cross sectional study. RNFL thickness was measured with cirrus high definition optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Inclusion Criteria: Any child of age 5 years to 17 years but cooperative for OCT.

Exclusion Criteria: Children with refractive errors strabismus or amblyopia, with neurological, metabolic, vascular, or other disorders and those with abnormal optic discs were excluded. Both eyes of each subject were scanned and selected for statistical analysis. The effect of age and gender on RNFL thickness was investigated statistically.

Results: The mean global RNFL thickness in males was 92.75±15.107 μm (range 48-144  μm) and that in females was 89.98±11.080 μm (range 68-101 μm) and the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.193). RNFL was thickest inferiorly (123.5±19.56 μm) and superiorly (112.7±25.16 μm), thinner nasally (68.95±13.24 μm), and thinnest temporally (66.36±12.97 μm). In correlation analysis, age had no statistically significant (P =0.702) effect on RNFL thickness.

Conclusion: Although in normal children, variation in RNFL thickness is large OCT can be used to measure and analyse RNFL thickness in children. The normative data provided by this study may assist in identifying changes in RNFL thickness in children of rural Indian population.