Influence of Patient Age and Presence of Optic Disc Drusen on Fluctuations in Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness

Abstract

Background: It is generally believed that optic disc drusen (ODD) change only over long periods of time. Because, in our experience, this does not apply to younger patients, we investigated the natural course of changes of the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) in patients with ODD. Methods: In this retrospective study, 40 eyes with and 40 eyes without ODD were examined, both cohorts were equally subdivided into younger subjects (20 years or younger) and older subjects (21 years or older). Three optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans of the peripapillary RNFL that had an interval of at least 1 month were required for each patient to be included in this study. The largest difference in total RNFL thickness (delta RNFL-t) and in RNFL thickness of the most differing sector (delta RNFL max) measured by OCT was compared. Results: The differences in total RNFL thickness and in the most differing RNFL sector in the group of patients with ODD younger than 21 years were significantly larger than in each of the other 3 groups (P = 0.0001). The other 3 groups did not differ significantly. Conclusions: Patients with ODD younger than 21 years have distinct variations in peripapillary RNFL thickness without evidence of increased intracranial pressure. In the absence of further pathological findings or neurological symptoms, an observational approach seems adequate in these patients.