To evaluate the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) without diabetes mellitus by using optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Sixty-six eyes of 33 patients with CRF were evaluated. Eighteen patients have been treated with hemodialysis (group 1) and 15 patients have been treated with peritoneal dialysis (group 2). The RNFL thicknesses were assessed before and after the hemodialysis in group 1. None of these patients had diabetes mellitus. Forty eyes of 20 age-matched normal control subjects were assessed in group 3. An RNFL thickness protocol was used to acquire circular scans of 3.4 mm in diameter around the optic nerve. For each eye, RNFL thicknesses were evaluated in 4 quadrants. All of the measurements were automatically calculated by the existing OCT software. All normal subjects and CRF patients underwent comprehensive ophthalmologic examination. The mean and quadrantal RNFL thickness values in patients with CRF were compared with the control group.

The mean RNFL thickness values in patients with CRF were statistically significantly lower than the control group. Differences between the RNFL thickness values in group 1 and group 2 and the predialysis and postdialysis measurements were not statistically significant.

The RNFL thickness in CRF without DM, which was measured by OCT-3, was found to be significantly decreased. The presence of CRF can be a source of false positive results and lead to overestimation of glaucomatous optic neuropathy.