The prognosis of glaucoma investigated with computerized perimetry.

The efficacy of glaucoma therapy in preventing progression of glaucomatous field loss was investigated in a retrospective study. Hundred eyes with glaucomatous field defects of 71 patients were enrolled in the study. The mean observation period was 3.8 years. The evaluation of potential visual field changes was made with the biostatistical program Delta of the Octopus computerized perimeter. All field examinations were done with the same automated perimeter (Octopus, model 201). In 19% of the eyes adequate medical or surgical therapy failed to arrest the disease process. Improvement or deterioration of the whole field can be simulated by changes of the pupillary diameter, whereas deterioration in the pathologic area only is highly specific for progression of the glaucomatous process.