Peripapillary Vessel Density in Glaucomatous Eyes: Comparison between Pseudoexfoliation Glaucoma and Primary Open-angle Glaucoma

Purpose: To compare the peripapillary vessel density between eyes with pseudoexfoliation glaucoma (PXG) and eyes with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). Methods: Peripapillary vessel density in the radial peripapillary capillaries (RPC) was assessed using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), and compared between patients with PXG and those with POAG matched for age and mean deviation (MD) of standard automated perimetry. The vessel density was measured between the optic disc margin and 750μm from the optic disc margin. Results: Thirty-nine eyes with PXG were matched to 39 eyes with POAG. Mean untreated intraocular pressure was higher in the PXG group than in the POAG group (21.4±6.7mm Hg vs. 14.9±2.9; P<0.001), but there was no difference in age, refractive error, visual field MD, or average retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness between the two groups. However, the average peripapillary vessel density in the RPC was lower in the eyes with PXG than in the eyes with POAG. Moreover, there was a significant correlation between peripapillary vessel density and both visual field MD and RNFL thickness. Conclusions: Peripapillary vessel density was lower in eyes with PXG than in eyes with POAG of similar severity.