Management of the open angle glaucoma in patients with central/hemicentral retinal vein occlusions

To prospectively assess the cumulative prevalence and management of open angle glaucoma (OAG), including primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) with high and normal-pressure, as well as pseudoexfoliative glaucoma (PEXG), in patients with central/hemicentral retinal vein occlusions (RVOs) over a 3-year follow-up period.

The study encompassed 57 patients with unilateral acute central/hemicentral RVOs. A complete ophthalmic examination of both eyes was undertaken for all patients. Patients with OAGs associated with central/hemicentral RVOs were treated with the current ocular hypotensive medications used worldwide and/or surgery and aimed to reduce the intraocular pressure (IOP) by 30% from baseline values for the 3 OAG forms existing in our series. The cumulative prevalence of OAG and the efficacy of treatment were evaluated.

OAG was observed in 3 clinical forms, namely, POAG with increased IOP in 4 patients, POAG with normal IOP in 3 patients, and PEXG in 3 patients. The cumulative prevalence of OAG was 19.6% (95%CI: 8.7-30.5). Using available ocular hypotensive medications (8 patients) and trabeculectomy (2 patients), the IOP decreased significantly from 24.3±4.36 mm Hg to 16.55±2.85 mm Hg, a reduction of 31.89% compared with baseline values. Glaucoma progression was not detected in any of the cases.

The high value of the cumulative prevalence of OAG is a risk factor for the development of venous occlusion. The treatment of glaucoma prevented its progression over a follow-up period of 3y.