Untreated ocular hypertension. A long-term prospective study
Y. Kitazawa, T. Horie, S. Aoki, M. Suzuki and K. Nishioka
A prospective study was designed to determine the course of ocular
hypertension without visual field loss if untreated and to estimate the
value of various clinical findings in prediction the course of ocular
hypertension. Seventy-five patients with intraocular pressure greater than
21 mm Hg but without demonstrable visual field defects were followed up
without glaucoma therapy for a minimum of nine years. While under
observation, seven of 75 ocular hypertensives developed typical
glaucomatous visual field defects. Both the sensitivity and the specificity
of each clinical finding in the individuals who later developed visual
field defects were determined, and none of the clinical findings was found
to be a good predictive indicator.
