[The incidence of primary open-angle glaucoma in patients with central retinal vein occlusion]

To prospectively study in a 10-year follow-up period the dynamics of the incidence of the primary open-angle glaucoma in patients with central retinal vein occlusion.

The study group consisted of 147 patients without diabetes with open angle glaucoma remained constantly by the end of the 10th month of the follow-up period when the frequency dropped to 4.7% due to the occurrence of neovascular glaucoma in one case of venous occlusion associated with primary open-angle glaucoma. The progressively increasing incidence of primary open-angle glaucoma to 10.2% thereafter was accounted for by the fact that in 8 patients the glaucoma suspect associated with central retinal vein occlusion converted to primary open-angle glaucoma. The incidence of primary open-open angle glaucoma in patients of the control group was rather constant, ranging between 4 and 5%.

There was no difference in the first years of the follow-up between the incidences of the primary open-angle glaucoma in both the study and control group. The obvious difference between the two frequencies appeared after the third year and by the end of the ensuing the two frequencies of primary open-angle glaucoma doubled in the patients of the study group. The low incidence of the neovascular glaucoma (1/16 = 5.5%) showed that the primary open-angle glaucoma associated with central retinal vein occlusion represented a protecting factor preventing the occurrence of the neovascular glaucoma.