Ethnicity-specific database improves the diagnostic ability of peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness to detect glaucoma

Abstract Purpose To determine the changes in optical coherence tomography (OCT) color probability codes and diagnostic ability for peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) and ganglion cell complex (GCC) analysis after applying a Chinese and Caucasian normative database. Design Cross-sectional study. Methods This study enrolled 219 healthy eyes (108 Caucasian and 111 Chinese) to construct an ethnicity-specific normative database for pRNFL and macular GCC thickness, which was tested then in 180 eyes with or without glaucoma (102 Caucasian and 78 Chinese). The percent of change of color probability codes were evaluated after applying the original built-in and the ethnicity-specific normative databases, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated to evaluate the change in diagnostic ability to detect glaucoma. Results Caucasian healthy subjects had a thinner pRNFL than Chinese subjects in the overall average thickness, as well as the superior, inferior, and temporal quadrants (p Conclusions After applying an ethnicity-specific normative database, the percent of pRNFL abnormal color-codes decreased significantly, improving the specificity to detect glaucoma in the Caucasian population. These findings suggest there may be utility in having ethnicity-specific normative databases for pRNFL thickness.