VISUAL-FIELD TOSS IN HIV-POSITIVE PATIENTS WITHOUT INFECTIOUS RETINOPATHY

PURPOSE: To determine the extent of vision loss in a cross-sectional s tudy of HIV-positive individuals who had no infectious retinopathy. ME THODS: Visual field loss was determined by computerized achromatic aut omated perimetry and short-wavelength automated perimetry in both eyes in 65 HIV-positive individuals without infectious retinopathy and in one randomly selected eye each in 57 age-matched normal controls. Resu lts were analyzed using the global index of mean defect and the Glauco ma Hemifield Test, and significance was determined through analysis of variance, chi-square, and Tukey-Kramer tests.RESULTS: We found that H IV-positive patients, compared with age-matched HIV-negative controls, demonstrated significant (at least P <.01) localized defects as well as an increased mean defect. The HIV-positive patients also had a sign ificantly greater number of defective points, especially on short-wave length automated perimetry, even while ophthalmoscopic examination and fundus photographs suggested that the retinas were normal. CONCLUSION S: There is a significant loss of visual function in HIV-positive indi viduals that is not the result of infectious retinopathies. The findin g By short-wavelength perimetry of more severe defects suggests that t he vision defects are not caused by attentional or other suprachiasmat ic problems because the neurologic difficulty of both achromatic and s hort-wavelength perimetry is similar. The effects of this vision loss on the daily living and occupational tasks of this population require further study.