Thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layer, macular thickness, in patients with amblyopia

Objective: To compare the thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and the macular thickness of the amblyopic eye with those of the non-amblyopic eye in patients with unilateral amblyopia using optical coherence tomography (OCT). Methods: OCT was performed for 13 patients with unilateral amblyopia who had no neurologic disease. Nine male and four female patients, whose ages ranged from 23 to 63 years, were enrolled in the study. The RNFL thickness average analysis program was used to evaluate mean superior, inferior, temporal, and nasal thickness. The data for all clock quadrants (12 values averaged) were identified as the overall RNFL. The retinal thickness analysis program was used to evaluate macular scans. Data were compared using the Man n-Whitney U test. Results: The mean age (standard deviation) was 35,43 years. There were 13 eyes with amblyopia; this group had visual acuity 0,1 logMAR or better in the best eye. OCT parameters including the RNFL thickness in all quadrants, overall RNFL thickness and macular thickness showed no significant differences between the two groups (p > 0,5). Conclusion: Assessment of RNFL thickness and macular thickness with OCT revealed no difference between the two eyes of patients with unilateral amblyopia.