Abstract
Purpose:
To compare the posture-induced intraocular pressure (IOP) changes in eyes with normal tension glaucoma (NTG) and healthy control eyes with normal IOPs.
Methods:
IOP was measured in the sitting and the lateral decubitus position with an Icare rebound tonometer (Icare). The IOP in the lateral decubitus position was measured in the upper-eyes 5 minutes after assuming this posture.
Results:
Age-, and gender-matched eighty patients with NTG and 80 controls with normal IOPs were studied. The mean age was 54.9 ± 12.0 years in the NTG group and 56.3 ± 11.8 years in the control group. Men were 37 and women were 43 in each group. The mean IOP measured with the Goldmann applanation tonometer was 13.0 ± 2.1 mmHg in the NTG eyes and 13.1 ± 2.7 mmHg in the control eyes (P=0.720). The IOP in the sitting position measured with the Icare tonometer was 14.6 ± 3.0 mmHg in eyes with NTG and 14.4 ± 3.6 mmHg in eyes with normal IOPs (P=0.807). The IOP in the lateral decubitus position was significantly increased to 18.3 ± 3.1 mmHg in eyes with NTG and 18.0 ± 3.8 mmHg in eyes with normal IOPs (P<0.001 in both groups; vs. baseline). The postural IOP difference was +3.8 ± 2.0 mmHg in NTG eyes and +3.5 ± 2.0 mmHg in normal eyes, and these increases were not significantly different between the two groups (P=0.496).
Conclusions:
Postural IOP changes are comparable among eyes with NTG without ocular hypotensive medications and control eyes.
Keywords: 568 intraocular pressure