To compare the ability of three dimensional spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (3D OCT) and Stratus OCT to detect early glaucoma.

The optic disc topographic and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness parameters were measured by 3D OCT and Stratus OCT in 69 normal eyes and 48 early glaucoma eyes. The discriminating abilities of the two techniques for detection of glaucoma were compared by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC).

The best Stratus OCT parameters and criterion that differentiated normal from early glaucoma based on AUC were horizontal integrated rim width (0.85) for optic nerve head parameters, inferior quadrant (0.88) for RNFL parameters, and ≥1 clock-hour abnormal at the 5% level (0.81) based on the normative database for criteria. The best 3D OCT parameters and criterion that differentiated normal from early glaucoma were vertical cup-to-disc ratio (0.85), 11 o'clock RNFL thickness (0.86), and ≥1 clock-hour abnormal at the 1% level (0.78), respectively. When all corresponding the best parameters and criterion were compared, there were no significant differences between the AUCs for Stratus OCT and 3D OCT ( p = 0.95, p = 0.73, p = 0.45, respectively).

Stratus OCT and 3D OCT had similar diagnostic ability for detection of early glaucoma.