Abstract
Purpose: :
To investigate the correlation between the severity of visual field defect and the rate or the rapidity of glaucomatous progression in patients with normal tension glaucoma.
Methods: :
159 eyes of consecutive 159 normal tension glaucoma patients who had been treated were selected for this study and visual field tests of these patients were analyzed retrospectively. Based on Humphrey glaucoma progression analysis and disc stereo-photograph, the rate and the rapidity of glaucomatous progression were evaluated. Patients were categorized as three groups by the mean deviation value(dB): early (MD>-6.0), moderate (-12.0<MD≤-6.0) and advanced (MD≤-12.0). Logistic regression analysis and Cox regression analysis were used to evaluate the rate and the rapidity of progression, respectively.
Results: :
31 eyes of early group(n=78), 13 eyes of moderate group(n=55) and 6 eyes of advanced group(n=26) have shown glaucomatous progression. In multivariate(Logistic regression) analysis of the progression rate, there were no significant differences among three groups (p=0.246, odd ratio=0.737, 95% confidential interval=0.441~1.234). The rapidity of glaucomatous progression among three groups also have showed no significant differences in multivariate(Cox regression) analysis (p=0.214, relative hazards=0.770, 95% confidence interval=0.510~1.163).
Conclusions: :
The rate and the rapidity of glaucomatous progression in treated normal tension glaucoma patients have no significant relation to the severity of visual field defect.