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Small rim is predictive of disc hemorrhage in POAG: study
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NUREMBURG, Germany — A small neuroretinal rim is a predictive factor for the development of disc hemorrhages in patients with chronic open-angle glaucoma, according to a large study. A large parapapillary beta zone may also be a predictive factor.
Disc hemorrhage development is independent of optic disc size and shape, size of alpha zone of parapapillary atrophy, retinal vessel diameter and optic disc depth, the study authors said.
Researchers here followed 432 eyes of 231 white patients with chronic open-angle glaucoma for a mean of 38.8 months. Eyes were divided into those with optic disc hemorrhage during the follow-up period, those without disc hemorrhages but with neuroretinal rim loss as a sign of glaucoma progression during the follow-up period and those with neither disc hemorrhage nor rim loss.
At baseline, neuroretinal rim area was significantly smaller and the beta zone of parapapillary atrophy was significantly larger in the hemorrhagic group than in the stable group. The neuroretinal rim area was the only significant predictor of hemorrhages.
The study is published in the September issue of Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.