Visual field loss in HIV-positive patients without infectious retinopathy.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the extent of vision loss in a cross-sectional study of HIV-positive individuals who had no infectious retinopathy.


METHODS
Visual field loss was determined by computerized achromatic automated perimetry and short-wavelength automated perimetry in both eyes in 65 HIV-positive individuals without infectious retinopathy and in one randomly selected eye each in 57 age-matched normal controls. Results were analyzed using the global index of mean defect and the Glaucoma Hemifield Test, and significance was determined through analysis of variance, chi-square, and Tukey-Kramer tests.


RESULTS
We found that HIV-positive patients, compared with age-matched HIV-negative controls, demonstrated significant (at least P < .01) localized defects as well as an increased mean defect. The HIV-positive patients also had a significantly greater number of defective points, especially on short-wavelength automated perimetry, even while ophthalmoscopic examination and fundus photographs suggested that the retinas were normal.


CONCLUSIONS
There is a significant loss of visual function in HIV-positive individuals that is not the result of infectious retinopathies. The finding by short-wavelength perimetry of more severe defects suggests that the vision defects are not caused by attentional or other suprachiasmatic problems because the neurologic difficulty of both achromatic and short-wavelength perimetry is similar. The effects of this vision loss on the daily living and occupational tasks of this population require further study.
Plummer
D J
DJ
Department of Ophthalmology, Shiley Eye Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla 92093-0946, USA. dplummer@ucsd.edu
Sample
P A
PA
Arévalo
J F
JF
Grant
I
I
Quiceno
J I
JI
Dua
R
R
Freeman
W R
WR
D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005654:Fundus Oculi; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010781:Photography; D011897:Random Allocation; D012164:Retinal Diseases / Q000821:virology; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D014792:Visual Acuity; D058609:Visual Field Tests; D014794:Visual Fields