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Abstract #15860 Published in IGR 2-3
The long-term fluctuation of the visual field in stable glaucoma
Hutchings N; Wild JM; Hussey MK; Flanagan JG; Trope GEInvestigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 2000; 41: 3429-3436
PURPOSE: To determine, in stable glaucoma, the characteristics of the between-examination variability of the visual field recorded with the Humphrey Field Analyzer (HFA; Humphrey Systems, Dublin, CA) using the homogeneous, LF(Ho), and heterogeneous, LF(He), components of the long-term fluctuation (LF), thereby providing a technique for separating progressive loss from fluctuation in sensitivity. METHODS: The LF components were calculated using a two-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) with replications and were determined between each pair of three successive HFA program 30-2 fields for each patient from two groups, each containing 30 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma. The interval between examinations for the first group was six to nine months and for the second group was three weeks. RESULTS: The group mean values for LF(Ho) ranged from 1.50-2.19 dB and for LF(He) from 1.70-2.05 dB. The average difference between examinations was within ±0.35 dB for each component, and the 95% limits of agreement for the two groups, respectively, were ±2.31 and ±2.39 dB for the LF(Ho) and ±2.36 and ±2.09 dB for the LF(He). The estimate of the 90% confidence limit for the LF(Ho) was 3.30 dB and for the LF(He), 3.60 dB. Little relationship was present between the LF components and the modulus differences in mean deviation (MD), the corrected pattern SD (CPSD), or the mean MD, mean short-term fluctuation, and mean CPSD, of the two fields. CONCLUSIONS: Estimation of the LF components and of the corresponding confidence limits yields an expression of the normal between-examination variability of two consecutive fields that can be used as a reliability index. A value outside the confidence limits indicates the necessity for a confirmatory follow-up field.
Dr. N. Hutchings, Department of Vision Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham, UK. nhutchin@sciborg.uwaterloo.ca
Classification:
6.6.2 Automated (Part of: 6 Clinical examination methods > 6.6 Visual field examination and other visual function tests)
