Tilted disc syndrome and colour vision

To study colour vision in patients with tilted disc syndrome.

Colour vision was examined using Boström-Kugelberg (B-K) plates, Farnsworth-Munsell 100-hue test (FM-100) and Farnsworth panel D-15 and Lanthony desaturated panel tests.

A total of 35 eyes of 21 patients were examined. Seventeen eyes (49%) of 11 patients were found to have a colour vision defect in at least one eye. The severity of the colour vision defect differed between eyes for six of eight patients with bilateral tilted discs. In two of these patients, colour vision was normal in one eye. Seven patients had a unilateral tilted disc and three of these individuals had a colour vision defect in the affected eye. Of all eyes with a colour vision defect, a red-green defect was found in four eyes (24%), a blue defect in one eye (6%), and a mixed defect in 12 eyes (70%). Colour vision defects were not related to visual acuity or to severity of visual field defects.

This is the first report of colour vision defects in tilted disc syndrome. In the differential diagnosis of tilted disc syndrome, chiasmal lesions and glaucoma, the examination of colour vision may add valuable information. Further, it is recommended that young people with tilted disc syndrome undergo an examination of colour vision so that they can be given appropriate career guidance.