Peripapillary Retinoschisis in Glaucoma: A Systematic Review

PURPOSE: The frequent use of optical coherence tomography increased the detection of peripapillary retinoschisis, which poses challenges in the follow-up of glaucoma patients. This systematic review aims to summarize the literature regarding peripapillary retinoschisis in glaucoma, exploring its prevalence, impact on disease, and clinical management implications.

METHODS: We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and Scopus with tailored search queries for each platform. All studies had to report peripapillary retinoschisis in glaucoma patients. Exclusion criteria included studies with less than 10 eyes, studies focusing on schisis outside the disc area, with concomitant retinal or optic nerve lesions, with animals, reviews, studies written in non-English language and congress abstracts.

RESULTS: Ten studies were included, of which 7 were case-control, one was a cohort study and two were case series. Six studies showed that peripapillary retinoschisis often overlapped pre-existing retinal nerve fiber layer defects. One study reported that the de novo development of peripapillary retinoschisis was more frequent in eyes with glaucoma progression than in eyes without progression. Visual field findings were inconsistent, with just one study (out of six) showing that glaucoma patients with peripapillary retinoschisis experienced faster visual field deterioration than those without it. Overall, solely two studies (out of seven) associated peripapillary retinoschisis with faster glaucoma progression.

CONCLUSIONS: Peripapillary retinoschisis biases optical coherence tomography analysis in glaucoma. Caution is needed against overestimation of retinal nerve fiber layer thickness when peripapillary retinoschisis develops, and misinterpretation of its resolution as rapid progression. Peripapillary retinoschisis' exact impact on glaucoma progression remains unclear.

Authors: Maria Carolina Almeida, Margarida Ribeiro M.D, João Barbosa-Breda M.D PhD

NGP Papers manager: Carlo Cutolo