Vol. 8, Issue 6, Part E (2022)

Abstract
Background and Objectives: The diagnosis of ocular disease like glaucoma in children is more difficult because its difficult to obtain reliable and reproducible visual examinations. The study was conducted to compile a normative database of RNFL thickness in pediatric age of 5-18years. Methods: This study presents 196 eyes of 200 children attending tertiary ophthalmic hospital, Davangere, Karnataka, South India, from November 2019-August 2021. The study included 65 males and 35 females. Complete ophthalmological examination was done in all children including cycloplegic refraction and fundus evaluation with 90D lens. Spectral domain OCT was performed using CIRRUS HD OCT-500. Axial length was obtained using ultrasound scanner-EPIDOT USO. Results: 196 eyes of 200 children were analyzed with mean age of (13.3±2.4) years. Average spherical equivalent was -0.28±0.91 dioptre and average axial length was 23.1±0.7 mm. The mean global RNFL thickness was 97.0±8.8µm. It is marginally higher in female (97.8±8.6 µm) compared to males (96.6±8.9 µm). RNFL thickness was maximum in the inferior quadrant (126.0±13.7 µm) followed by superior quadrant (126.2±13.7 µm) and was least for temporal quadrant. RNFL thickness was thicker with shorter axial length (p< 0.001) and with higher hyperopia (p< 0.001). Conclusion: Normative RNFL thickness in healthy children between 5-18 years were established in our demographic setup. RNFL thickness followed a normal distribution and varied marginally with gender. RNFL thinning was associated with increasing axial length and less positive refraction. The normative data from this study could serve as reference for further studies on pediatric glaucoma.