Preferential Ganglion Cell Loss in the Nasal Hemiretina in Patients With Pituitary Tumor.

Background: Analysis of retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and macular ganglion cell layer loss provides a noninvasive method to assess optic chiasmal compression. These techniques may provide valuable data for patient evaluation and management when combined with findings on clinical examination and neuroimaging results.

Methods: Data from 20 eyes of 10 patients with pituitary tumor treated at Inha University Hospital from 2011 to 2013 were collected. This included results of ophthalmologic examination, fundus photography, spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), automated visual field testing, and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Abnormal color patterns on thickness and deviation maps obtained by macular ganglion cell analysis (GCA) were evaluated and compared with visual field defects.

Results: Patients with pituitary tumor showed preferential ganglion cell loss in the nasal hemiretina and characteristic vertical midline-respecting perimacular ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer defects, which anatomically matched the visual field defects.

Conclusions: Macular GCA using SD-OCT can be used to complement visual field assessment and brain MRI findings during evaluation of patients with pituitary tumor.