Ocular haemodynamics in pseudoexfoliative and primary open-angle glaucoma

To compare the retrobulbar haemodynamic parameters in the ophthalmic artery (OA) and short posterior ciliary arteries (SPCA) in pseudoexfoliative and primary open-angle glaucoma patients.

Fourty-three eyes from 43 patients with pseudoexfoliative glaucoma (PXE) and 31 eyes from 31 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) who met the inclusion/exclusion criteria were included in this prospective cross-sectional study. Colour Doppler imaging measurements, peak systolic velocity (PSV), and end-diastolic velocity (EDV) were assessed in the OA and posterior ciliary arteries (PCA). Pourcelot resistivity indices (RI) were calculated. Visual function was assessed using the 24-2 Swedish Interactive Threshold Algorithm (SITA). The main outcomes of the study were PSV, EDV, and RI in the OA and SPCA.

In POAG patients, PSV and EDV were significantly lower in the OA, P=0.003 and P<0.001 respectively, and in the PCA, P=0.003 and P<0.001 respectively, when compared with the PXE group. The RI was significantly higher, P<0.001, in both vessels, in the POAG group.

The results of this study have found reduced PSV and EDV and increased RI in the retrobulbar vessels of POAG patients when compared with PXE patients.