title: Comparison of peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer loss and visual outcome in fellow eyes following sequential bilateral non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To report on the correlation of structural damage to the axons of the optic nerve and visual outcome following bilateral non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective review of the medical records of 25 patients with bilateral sequential non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy was performed. Outcome measures were peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness measured with the Stratus optical coherence tomography scanner, visual acuity and visual field loss.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Median peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, mean deviation (MD) of visual field, and visual acuity of initially involved NAION eyes (54.00 µm, -17.77 decibels (dB), 0.4, respectively) were comparable to the same parameters measured following development of second NAION event in the other eye (53.70 µm, p = 0.740; -16.83 dB, p = 0.692; 0.4, p = 0.942, respectively). In patients with bilateral NAION, there was a significant correlation of peripapillary RNFL thickness (r = 0.583, p = 0.002) and MD of the visual field (r = 0.457, p = 0.042) for the pairs of affected eyes, whereas a poor correlation was found in visual acuity of these eyes (r = 0.279, p = 0.176). Peripapillary RNFL thickness following NAION was positively correlated with MD of visual field (r = 0.312, p = 0.043) and negatively correlated with logMAR visual acuity (r = -0.365, p = 0.009).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In patients who experience bilateral NAION, the magnitude of RNFL loss is similar in each eye. There is a greater similarity in visual field loss than in visual acuity between the two affected eyes with NAION of the same individual.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Tel Aviv Medical Center, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University , Tel Aviv , Israel and.
authors.forename: Gad
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dotan
authors.forename: Anat
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kesler
authors.forename: Elvira
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Naftaliev
authors.forename: Barry
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Skarf
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000473:pathology*; D009898:Optic Disk / Q000473:pathology*; D018917:Optic Neuropathy, Ischemic / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D014792:Visual Acuity; D058609:Visual Field Tests; D014794:Visual Fields
keywords: Non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION); optical coherence tomography (OCT); retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL)