Automated differential threshold perimetry for detecting glaucomatous visual field loss.

Because early glaucomatous visual field defects occur asymmetrically across the horizontal meridian, we analyzed data from automated perimetry by comparing sums of threshold values of corresponding groups of points in the superior and inferior hemispheres of the central 30 degrees tested by the Humphrey Field Analyzer. We developed patterns and criteria from 25 early glaucomatous and 36 normal control eyes to achieve optimal balance between sensitivity (96%) and specificity (86%). Application of these criteria to an independent group of 27 glaucomatous and 105 control eyes yielded a sensitivity of 88.9% and specificity of 85.7%. Minor modification of the criteria improved sensitivity and specificity to more than 90% for both patients and controls.