title: Visual field change in low-tension glaucoma over a five-year follow-up.
abstract: There is some evidence that the nature and progression of disease in low-tension glaucoma may be distinct from other open-angle glaucomas. The authors assessed visual field change by retrospective case review of all patients treated for low-tension glaucoma by the Glaucoma Service, Wills Eye Hospital, for at least 5 years. Sixty-two glaucomatous eyes of 36 patients were identified. All eyes were treated medically and 40 (65%) underwent at least one surgical procedure. Twenty-eight eyes (47%) had initial field loss confined to a single hemi-field and in the remainder both hemi-fields were involved. Thirty of 57 eyes (53%) showed progression at 3 years and 38 (62%) of 57 had progressed by 5 years. A dense scotoma extending from the nasal periphery toward fixation was the most common visual field defect. The rate of field change in this population is significantly greater than in a cohort of primary open-angle glaucoma patients also seen at Wills Eye Hospital, but who had elevated intraocular pressures. Patterns of field loss and rate of progression in this low-tension glaucoma population suggest that the natural history of low-tension glaucoma differs from high-tension open-angle glaucoma.
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School, Cambridge.
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Gliklich
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Steinmann
authors.forename: G L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Spaeth
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014794:Visual Fields