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Damage from acute angle-closure glaucoma associated with duration, IOP level
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FLORENCE, Italy — The amount of damage to the optic nerve caused by acute angle-closure glaucoma depends upon both the duration of the acute phase and the maximum IOP reached, said Francesca Iori, MD, here at the European Glaucoma Society meeting.
Dr. Iori said the amount of damage sustained by the optic nerve may also depend upon the nerve’s toleration of IOP insult, which can vary from person to person.
She described a study that included 51 eyes of 51 patients with a single attack of angle-closure glaucoma. All eyes underwent testing with the Humphrey Field Analyzer (Carl Zeiss Meditec) and 41 underwent imaging with the GDx (Laser Diagnostic Technology).
In visual field analysis, 37 of the 51 patients (72.5%) showed a mean loss of more than 5 dB; the others lost less than 5 dB.
Among the 41 patients who underwent GDx nerve fiber layer measurements, 19 (46.3%) showed a reduction of less than 50 µm in the superior region.
Linear regression analysis showed that the longer the acute phase lasted and the higher the maximum IOP, the greater the damage sustained to the visual field, Dr. Iori said. Reduction in nerve fiber layer thickness was correlated only with the duration of the attack and not the maximum IOP reached, she said.