The Relationship Between Visual Field Parameters and Retrobulbar Blood Flow in Patients with Glaucoma

Abstract

Purpose: : To investigate the relationship between the change in visual field parameters and retrobulbar blood flow after two years in patients with open angle glaucoma (OAG).

Methods: : 100 OAG patients were examined at baseline and following 2 years follow up for visual field parameters and retrobulbar blood flow. Associations between the changes in visual field and blood flow parameters were evaluated using Pearson correlation coefficients. In addition, to explore gender specific relationships, correlations were calculated separately for 58 females and 42 males.

Results: : In the entire cohort of patients with OAG, central retinal artery (CRA) peak systolic velocity (PSV) and end diastolic velocity (EDV) is positively correlated to mean deviation (MD) (r=0.20, p=0.0416; r=0.22, p=0.0273). CRA EDV is negatively correlated to advanced glaucoma intervention study (AGIS) score (r=-0.26, p=0.0099).In the gender specific analysis, CRA PSV is positively correlated to MD in females (r=0.31, p=0.0175) but not males (r=-0.01, p=0.93). CRA EDV is positively correlated to MD (r=0.39, p=0.0020) and negatively correlated to AGIS score (r=-0.34, p 0.0082) in females, but again not associated in males (r=-0.08 for MD and r=-0.13 for AGIS score).

Conclusions: : In this cohort of patients with OAG, as CRA PSV and CRA EDV increased the visual field MD value also increased during 2 years follow up. When CRA EDV increased OAG patients AGIS score decreased. Thus, increased retinal blood flow has a positive relationship with visual function as defined by MD and AGIS score. Although these associations were significant when evaluating all subjects, the significance was driven by the relationships in females, with weak or no associations found in male subjects with OAG.

Keywords: visual fields • blood supply • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: risk factor assessment