Iridocorneal Angle Assessments in Open Angle Glaucoma and Ocular Hypertension Patients

Background: Evaluation of the anterior chamber angle (ACA) is vital for glaucoma diagnosis, management, and prevention, especially in individuals with ocular hypertension (OHT) where mechanical stress can alter the iris and trabecular meshwork. While, gonioscopy is essential for assessing this angle, anterior segment optical coherence tomography (ASOCT) offers a more comfortable and objective quantitative evaluation.
Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the angle configuration by ASOCT in POAG and OHT compared to normal individual and to correlate it with clinical assessment by Shaffer grades gonioscopy.
       Patient and methods: This research was an observational, non-randomized comparative study. Execution occurred from February 2022 to September 2022. Study involved sixty eyes from thirteen cases, categorized into 3 groups: Twenty with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), twenty with ocular hypertension (OHT), twenty normal subjects. Group A: [twenty eyes from ten cases] diagnosed with POAG, group B: [twenty eyes from ten cases] diagnosed with OHT and group C: Twenty eyes from ten healthy persons at Al-Zahraa University Hospital.
Results: There was significantly higher mean Shaffer grades in the normal group compared to the POAG and OHT groups. ASOCT measurements of angle opening distance at 500 and 750 μm (AOD500, AOD750) were also significantly larger in the normal group, followed by the OHT group, and then the POAG group.
Conclusion: Individuals with OHT and POAG had narrower iridocorneal angles compared to normal individuals. ASOCT provided a more detailed, quantitative assessment of the angle, complementing the clinical evaluation by gonioscopy.