JOURNAL READING

LIFETIME RISK OF
BLINDNESS IN OPEN-
ANGLE GLAUCOMA
BY : KURNIA SARI, S.Ked (0110840044)

SUPERVISOR : dr. SARAH MEILANI. Sp.M

 INTRODUCED

FACT
THE RISK OF Glaucoma is
VISUAL Open-angle the second
DISABILITY most important
FROM glaucoma reason for
GLAUCOMA ?? (OAG) is a blindness
major reason worldwide
QUESTION for blindness
FACT
S
 To determine the lifetime
Purpos risk and duration of
blindness in patients with
e manifest open-angle
glaucoma (OAG).

Retrospective chart review

Design
 METHODE
Most glaucoma patients living in the catchment area (city of
Malmo: n = 305 000) are managed at the Department of
Ophthalmology at Skane University Hospital in Malmo.

Glaucoma patients who died between January 2006 and June

2010.

Eligible patients had to have OAG, primary open-angle

glaucoma (POAG), or exfoliative glaucoma (PEXG)

Patients included in the study were divided into 2 groups: (1)

diagnosis group; (2) follow-up only group
 (1)
showed a repeatable visual eld defect
(VFD) consistent with glaucoma and not
Diagnosis of
explained by other causes
Glaucoma

(2)
had only 1 visual eld test but with a VFD
consistent with glaucoma and a
corresponding optic disc abnormality

(3)
was already blind (visual acuity <0.05) at
time of
diagnosis and had a record of a totally
cupped glaucomatous optic disc
 World Health Organization (WHO) criteria for low vision
(0.05 [20/400] VA < 0.3 [20/60] and/or 10 central
VF < 20 degrees) and blindness (VA <0.05 [20/400]
and/or central VF <10 degrees).
 (2) bilateral low
vision: (3) unilateral
patients with low blindness: patients
vision in the best blind in 1 eye
eye

(4) bilateral
blindness:
(1) unilateral low
vision: patients with both
4 categories eyes blind, mainly
patients with low caused by
vision in 1 eye of low vision
glaucoma
and blindness
with in at least 1 eye
glaucoma as
the main
cause:
 RESULTS

Median VA at time of diagnosis

was 0.8 (20/25), ranging from
no light perception to 1.00
(20/20)
Mean intraocular pressure
(IOP) value in all
glaucomatous eyes at time of
diagnosis was 27.2 8.8
mmHg
RESULTS
RESULTS
RESULTS...
 IN THIS STUDY OF LIFETIME RISK
FOR BLINDNESS A LARGE
proportion of patients (42.2%) were
blind from glaucoma in at least 1
eye, and 16.4% were bilaterally
DISCUSSI blind from glaucoma.

ON The rates of low vision and

blindness in all included patients (n
= 592). Access to patient age,
visual acuity (VA), and visual elds
(VF) as of the time of diagnosis
making it possible to calculate the
cumulative incidence of blindness
from glaucoma in this group only.
 Approximately 1 out of 6 glaucoma
patients was bilaterally blind from
glaucoma at the last visit.

CONCLU Median duration of bilateral blindness

was 2 years.
SIONS With longer life expectancy,
glaucoma patients will have the
disease for a longer time and it is
possible that the lifetime risk of
glaucoma blindness may increase
even further.
THANK YOU