SHORT TERM EVALUATION OF PERIMETRIC PROGRESSION IN PATIENTS WITH OPEN ANGLE GLAUCOMA AND DIABETES.

Aim Of Study: Progression rate in patients with glaucoma and diabetes.

Material And Method: cohort prospective study in Ophthalmology Clinic "Sf. Spiridon" University Hospital Iasi. We recruited patients with positive history for diabetes and of open angle glaucoma (OAG). The control group included subjects with OAG (74 eyes from 74 patients) and the study group (44 eyes, from 44 patients) included subjects with OAG and diabetes. At enrollment all patients had a complete ophthalmologic evaluation along with full metabolic status assessment. There were included only incipient and moderate forms of glaucoma, with mild or no diabetic retinopathy changes. Perimetric progression was assessed at 24 months with automated methods.

Results: globally, from 118 investigated eyes, 56.40% cases had primary open angle glaucoma, 41.03% normal tension glaucoma and 2.36% pseudoexfoliative glaucoma. Glaucoma severity classification showed early defects (mean deviation < -6 db) in the study group of 77.27% vs. 83.78% in control group, whereas moderate defects (mean deviation > -6 db) were found in 22.63% in study group vs. 16.21.0% in control group. Mean age of the patients was higher in absolute value in the open angle glaucoma group (64.31 +/- 1.66 years), vs. diabetes + open angle glaucoma (62.69 +/- 1.8 years), with comparable visual acuities (0.91 +/- 0.15 vs. 0.89 +/- 0.16), CID ratios and other clinical pa- rameters (p > 0.05). Mean baseline lOP in the study group was 18.18 +/- 3.55 mrnHg vs. 17.08 +/- 2.4 nimHg in controls (p > 0.05). Analysis of visual field parameters at baseline showed a significant difference (p = 0.48) between groups in MD levels -3.63 +/- 3.35 db (control group) vs. -4.40 +/- 5.78 db (study group), but no difference (p > 0.05) in PSD levels: 3.71 +/- 3.06 db (control group) vs. 4.05 +/- 3.04 dB (study group). Perimetric progression was estimated at 24 months by Glaucoma Progression Analysis software (GPA-Humphrey Visual Field Analyzer II) using 6 reliable visual field (VF) exams. Progression rate was similar between groups--0.19 +/- 0.78 dB/year (OAG) vs. -0.18 +/- 0.05 dB/year (OAG+DM), p > 0.05 and no other risk factor could have been linked to an increased progression rate, except visual field parameters at final and baseline evaluation, in both groups.

Conclusions: On short term, functional deterioration in open angle glaucoma patients having early or moderate stages, occurs similarly in the presence or absence of diabetes.