Uveitis as a Confounding Factor in Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Analysis Using Optical Coherence Tomography

Purpose To investigate the retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT) in uveitic eyes and search for the associations with uveitis activity, etiology and location. Methods The files of 76 patients with uveitis and 76 controls were scanned. Associations of RNFLT were analyzed using generalized linear models. Results The RNFLT was significantly higher in patients with uveitis (p< .001). Active uveitis patients had a thicker RNFL than the controls and the patients with quiescent uveitis (p< .001). Anterior uveitis was associated with thinner RNFL in global and inferotemporal quadrant (p= .011 and 0.013, respectively). Thickening of RNFL was associated with posterior uveitis and Behcet's disease in all quadrants (p< .001) and idiopathic uveitis in the superonasal and nasal quadrants (p= .001). Conclusion Active uveitis, as well as posterior uveitis and Behcet's disease-associated uveitis, is a major confounding factor in RNFL analysis and therefore detection of glaucoma.