title: Study of spectral-domain optical coherence tomography in children: normal values and influence of age, sex, and refractive status.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To establish normal values for retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), macular thickness, and macular volume in children using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT).
  
  
  METHODS
  A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed in healthy children between 3 and 14 years of age. Each child underwent a comprehensive ophthalmic examination that included 3 OCT scans with Spectralis (Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany). All measurements were performed by the same operator, and one eye was randomly selected. The influence of age, sex, and refraction on OCT measurements was analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The sample consisted of 162 Caucasian subjects, mean age 8.1 ± 3.03 years. The spherical equivalent was 0.03 ± 0.19 D (range ±4 D, astigmatism &lt;1 D). The average values were 263.69 ± 4.54 µm for central macular thickness, 0.21 ± 0.01 mm3 for central macular volume, and 100.45 ± 1.98 µm for RNFL. A significant correlation between RNFL and spherical equivalent was found for the nasal (p = 0.001), inferior (p = 0.009), and inferior nasal (p = 0.005) sectors. No differences were found with regard to sex (p&gt;0.05). However, central macular thickness and central macular volume were correlated with age (p = 0.027, p = 0.02).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provides reference values for macular thickness, macular volume, and RNFL in healthy children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, "Lozano Blesa" University Hospital, Zaragoza - Spain.|IIS Aragon, Aragon Health Sciences Institute, Zaragoza - Spain.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pérez-García
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, "Lozano Blesa" University Hospital, Zaragoza - Spain.|IIS Aragon, Aragon Health Sciences Institute, Zaragoza - Spain.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ibañez-Alperte
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, "Lozano Blesa" University Hospital, Zaragoza - Spain.
authors.forename: León
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Remón
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, "Lozano Blesa" University Hospital, Zaragoza - Spain.
authors.forename: José Ángel
authors.initials: JÁ
authors.lastname: Cristóbal
authors.affiliation: IIS Aragon, Aragon Health Sciences Institute, Zaragoza - Spain.|Department of Applied Physics, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza - Spain.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sanchez-Cano
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, "Lozano Blesa" University Hospital, Zaragoza - Spain.|IIS Aragon, Aragon Health Sciences Institute, Zaragoza - Spain.
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pinilla
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009412:Nerve Fibers; D012016:Reference Values; D012029:Refraction, Ocular / Q000502:physiology*; D012160:Retina / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D017678:Sex Distribution; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000379:methods*; D044465:White People