title: Diurnal Intraocular Pressure Profiles in Chronic Open-Angle Glaucoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate day-and-night intraocular pressure (IOP) profiles in normal and glaucomatous eyes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Hospital-based clinical observational study.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 3561 day-and-night profiles of IOP measurements performed by Goldmann applanation tonometry on 1408 eyes of 720 normal Caucasian subjects or chronic open-angle glaucoma patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For all groups except the secondary open-angle glaucoma group, IOP was highest at 7 a.m., followed by noon and 5 p.m., and finally at 9 p.m. or midnight. In secondary open-angle glaucoma, mean measurements did not vary significantly during day and night. The profile amplitude (mean: 5.5 2.8 mm Hg) was significantly (P < 0.001) higher in the secondary open-angle glaucoma group than in the normal-pressure glaucoma group and the normal group. The two latter groups did not vary significantly (P = 0.47) in profile amplitude. Expressed as percentage of the mean IOP, the IOP amplitude did not vary significantly between any of the study groups. The inter-eye IOP difference for any measurement time was significantly (P < 0.001) smaller than the IOP profile amplitude.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Treated secondary open-angle glaucoma eyes did not exhibit the normal day-and-night pressure profile which was usually shown in normal eyes and eyes treated for other types of chronic open-angle glaucoma. The day-and-night IOP amplitude in absolute terms is highest in secondary open-angle glaucoma. In relative terms, the IOP amplitude did not vary significantly between the various types of chronic open-angle glaucoma. Inter-eye IOP differences were significantly (P < 0.001) smaller than the IOP profile amplitude.
authors.affiliation: From the *Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Clinical Medicine Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim; †Department of Ophthalmology, University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen; and ‡Department of Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Charité Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Jost B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Jonas
authors.forename: Wido M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Budde
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stroux
authors.forename: Isabel M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Oberacher-Velten
authors.forename: Anselm
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jünemann