Intraocular pressure as a risk factor for visual field loss in pseudoexfoliative and in primary open-angle glaucoma.

Objective

To analyze the relationship between intraocular pressure (IOP) and visual field loss in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and in those with pseudoexfoliative glaucoma (PEXG).

Design

A cross-sectional, observational study.

Participants

Thirty-one patients with PEXG and 31 patients with POAG that was newly diagnosed were included in this study.

Main outcome measures

The authors recorded the untreated IOP and the amount of the visual field loss, at presentation, in both study groups.

Results

The authors found a significant relationship between IOP and visual field mean deviation (MD) index (P = 0.0001, r = 0.68) in PEXG but not in POAG eyes (P = 0.7).

Conclusion

The authors found that untreated IOP levels can explain the amount of visual field loss, as measured by the MD index, much better in patients with PEXG than in comparable patients with POAG. Thus, vulnerability of the optic nerve head to increased IOP appears to be different in these two diagnostic categories.