Bi-nasal sectors of ganglion cells complex and visual evoked potential amplitudes as biomarkers in pituitary macroadenoma management

Abstract

The study aimed to evaluate the retinal ganglion cell structure using optical coherence tomography and the visual pathway function employing visual evoked potentials in the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with pituitary macroadenoma. A descriptive, cross-sectional, and longitudinal study (3 and 12 months follow-up) was conducted on forty-two patients. Thirty-five age-matched healthy controls were used in the cross-sectional one. Full neuro-ophthalmological evaluation (structural and functional) was carried out including global and segmented retinal nerve fiber layer/ganglion cell complex analysis and amplitude and latency of P100 component in the electrophysiology. Statistical data analysis was conducted with R version 3.6.3 and Python version 3.8. Associations were evaluated using Spearman’s correlations. Amplitude sensitivities were 0.999, and bi-nasal sectors of ganglion cell complex thickness specificities were 0.999. This structural parameter had the highest diagnostic value (area under curve = 0.923). Significant associations were found between bi-nasal sectors with amplitude at 12′ (rho > 0.7, p < 0.01) and median deviation of the visual field (rho > 0.5, p < 0.01) at 3 months. Pre-surgical values of bi-nasal sectors and amplitude can predict post-surgically median deviation and amplitude (Oz, 12′) at 3 months with r2 > 0.5. Bi-nasal sectors of ganglion cell complex and visual evoked potentials P100 amplitude are efficient biomarkers of visual pathway damage for pituitary macroadenoma patients’ management. Pre-surgical values of the bi-nasal sector and visual evoked potentials’ amplitude could help to predict the restoration of parvocellular pathway traffic after decompression.