Glaucomatouslike visual field defects in chronic papilledema.

In 19 patients, 31 eyes with chronic papilledema were found to have visual field defects other than enlarged blind spots. In this series, the inferior nasal quadrant was most frequently involved. Dense paracentral scotomata were found in the Bjerrum area, some of which later progressed to form ring scotomata. Visual acuity usually deteriorated late in the course of the disease. The similarities of visual field defects in papilledema and glaucoma suggest common pathogenetic mechanisms of nerve fiber atrophy in both diseases.