Correlation between Disc Damage Likelihood Scale and Optical Coherence Tomography in the Diagnosis of Glaucoma

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between the Disc Damage Likelihood Scale (DDLS), visual field and various optical coherence tomography (OCT) parameters for glaucoma diagnosis. Methods: The study comprised 149 eyes from 149 patients. The patients were categorized as normal, glaucoma suspect or with glaucoma. They were clinically examined and graded according to the DDLS system. OCT was performed to acquire both a retinal nerve fibre layer analysis and an optic nerve head analysis. The relationships between DDLS score, visual field and OCT parameters were analysed using multiple correlation analysis. Results: The normal, glaucoma suspect and glaucoma groups had average DDLS scores of 1.58 +/- 1.40, 2.55 +/- 1.93 and 5.33 +/- 1.39, respectively. Evaluating the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve, the DDLS had the best predictive power (0.917), followed by corrected pattern standard deviation. Conclusion: The DDLS is a useful parameter in the diagnosis of glaucoma and it showed a close correlation with visual field, cup/disc ratio and OCT parameters. Copyright (C) 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel