The effect of artificial tear administration on visual field testing in patients with glaucoma and dry eye

To examine the effects of artificial tear administration on perimetry of primary open-angle glaucoma patients with dry eye.

A total of 40 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma experienced in automated perimetry with symptoms of dry eye were enrolled in this study. After their pretest visit, they were instructed to use artificial tear four times a day in both eyes for 1 week. After 1 week, patients had visual field testing. Test taking time, reliability parameters (false-positive and false-negative errors) visual field indices and number of depressed points at different probability levels (P<5%, P<2%, P<1%, P<0.5%) in both total and pattern deviation plots were compared using paired Ttest.

We found significant improvement in reliability parameters (false-positive errors from 2.4+/-2.1 to 2.1+/-1.9, P=0.02; and false-negative errors from 7.3+/-6.4 to 4.8+/-3.6, P=0.01) and visual field indices (MD increased from 5.97+/-5.61 to 4.57+/-4.53, P=0.001; PSD from 4.67+/-2.95 to 4.13+/-2.77, P=0.04 and SF decreased from 2.24+/-1.23 to 1.83+/-0.77, P=0.04) in the second testing after artificial tear administration. Test time significantly increased from 11.66+/-2.55 min to 14.26+/-1.36, P=0.001. The number of depressed points at probability levels P<1% (P=0.03) and P<0.5% (P=0.04) at total deviation plot and P<2% (P=0.02) and P<0.5% (P=0.009) in pattern deviation plot decreased significantly.

Artificial tear administration in glaucomatous patients with dry eye seems to improve significantly reliability parameters and visual field indices.