Optic disc haemorrhages preceding manifest glaucoma.

The Dalby population has been subjected to repeated glaucoma surveys in a deliberate effort to describe the early stages of glaucoma. A total of 28 haemorrhagic episodes were observed at 3819 examinations of persons not having manifest glaucoma. The prevalence of optic disc haemorrhages was dependent on age and residence. The mean IOP in eyes with optic disc haemorrhages was 17.0 mmHg. Only four out of 24 haemorrhages in eyes without pseudoexfoliations were associated with intraocular pressures over 20.5 mmHg. Of twelve cases followed more than six years two died and five developed manifest glaucoma. The period of latency between the detection of a haemorrhage and the development of a glaucomatous visual field defect was 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7 years, respectively.