Abstract
Purpose::
Ocular pulse amplitude (OPA) may reflect the ocular hemodynamic status. We investigated the association of OPA measured by dynamic contour tonometer (DCT) with systemic condition that might affect ocular blood flow.
Methods::
A cross-sectional study was conducted among 207 glaucoma suspects in a tertiary care glaucoma clinic. Each patient had Humphrey visual field 24-2 full threshold examination, OPA measurements by DCT, and completed a systematic questionnaire on systemic condition and previous medical history (i.e., hypertension, diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart disease (IHD), cerebral infarct, dyslipidemia, migraine, and Raynaud’s phenomenon) that might compromise ocular hemodynamics. Eyes with intraocular pressure (IOP) ≥ 22 mmHg were excluded from the analysis. The OPA was compared between the patients with and without glaucomatous VFD, and also compared between the patients with and without specific systemic condition or previous medical history based on the questionnaire. We also investigated the association of OPA with visual field indices.
Results::
Sixty-one subjects were diagnosed as having glaucomatous VFD. There was no significant difference of OPA between the patients with and without glaucomatous VFD. Subjects who had a previous history of IHD (P value = 0.041) and Raynaud’s phenomenon (P value = 0.001) showed significantly higher OPA values than ones who did not. There was no significant difference of OPA based on the other items on the questionnaire. OPA was not correlated with visual field indices.
Conclusions::
OPA was increased in subjects with IHD or Raynaud’s phenomenon. These findings suggest that OPA may be associated with autonomic dysregulation of the ocular blood flow.
Keywords: clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: biostatistics/epidemiology methodology • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: risk factor assessment