Re: Kuang et al.: Estimating lead time gained by optical coherence tomography in detecting glaucoma before development of visual field defects (Ophthalmology 2015;122:2002-9)
Authors: Alfred Sommer
Journal: Ophthalmology (2016)

Although digital platforms make it extraordinarily easy to search the world's literature, I have noted a disconcerting laziness on the part of modern authors when it comes to searching out published data on subjects on which they are working. The most recent case in point is the interesting article by Kuang et al in the October 2015 issue of Ophthalmology.1Kuang T.M. Zhang C. Zangwill L.M. et al.Estimating lead time gained by optical coherence tomography in detecting glaucoma before development of visual field defects.Ophthalmology. 2015; 122: 2002-2009Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (94) Google Scholar They followed 75 patients suspected of having glaucoma with periodic optical coherence tomography until the time they first developed confirmed visual field defects on automated perimetry and were able to demonstrate that 35% had abnormal retinal nerve fiber layer thickness measurements 4 years previously. Their references, alas, failed to note an almost identical article, published nearly 4 decades ago, that first documented quantitatively the appearance of retinal nerve fiber layer defects (as seen, in masked readings, on Kodachrome slides) before the development of visual field defects on what was then the “gold standard” (Goldman kinetic perimetry).2Sommer A. Miller N.R. Pollack I. et al.The nerve fiber layer in the diagnosis of glaucoma.Arch Ophtalmol. 1977; 95: 2149-2156Crossref PubMed Scopus (369) Google Scholar We detected retinal nerve fiber layer defects in at least one-half the patients 5 years before they developed abnormalities in their visual fields. More comprehensive reviews of existing, relevant publications are critical to developing new insights and ideas worth pursuing, and strengthen the interpretation of later discoveries. After all these years, with their modern advances in both imaging and visual field testing, it is nice to see that those early findings remain consistent with those being made today. Estimating Lead Time Gained by Optical Coherence Tomography in Detecting Glaucoma before Development of Visual Field DefectsOphthalmologyVol. 122Issue 10PreviewTo estimate the diagnostic accuracy and lead time gained by retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness measurements from optical coherence tomography (OCT) for detecting glaucoma before the development of visual field defects. Full-Text PDF ReplyOphthalmologyVol. 123Issue 6PreviewWe thank Professor Sommer for his interest in our article. We certainly recognize his pioneering work in demonstrating the importance of retinal nerve fiber layer assessment in detecting early glaucomatous damage. Professor Sommer's work has certainly inspired the development of technologies for better assessment of the retinal nerve fiber layer in the decades that followed his publications. We have previously cited his work in many of our publications, including a recent comprehensive review.1–4 However, owing to space limitations and the recent insistence by journals to limit the number of cited references, we did not cite this important reference. Full-Text PDF