DISC AND FIELD DAMAGE IN PATIENTS WITH UNILATERAL VISUAL-FIELD LOSS FROM PRIMARY OPEN-ANGLE GLAUCOMA

To assess the temporal relationship between field and disc change in e arly glaucoma, 24 patients with unilateral visual field loss from prim ary open angle glaucoma were identified for planimetric optic disc mea surements. Cross-sectional analysis of disc rim area was performed and compared to 25 age-matched normal controls. The mean (+/- SD) disc ri m area in eyes with normal visual fields (1.10 +/- 0. 31 mm2) was slig htly larger than that of eyes with visual field loss (0.90 +/- 0.33 mm 2). The mean disc rim area in the control group (1.49 +/- 0.19 mm2) wa s significantly different from both sets of eyes in the asymmetric pri mary open angle glaucoma patients (p = 0.000). These findings support the hypothesis that loss of the optic disc rim can be detected before perimetric abnormalities develop in patients with glaucoma.