One year structural and functional glaucoma progression after trabeculectomy

We evaluated the changes in visual field mean deviation (VF MD) and retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness in glaucoma patients undergoing trabeculectomy. One hundred patients were examined with VF and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) before trabeculectomy and 4 follow-up visits over one year. Linear mixed models were used to investigate factors associated with VF and RNFL. VF improved during the first 3 months of follow-up (2.55 ± 1.06 dB/year) and worsened at later visits (-1.14 ± 0.29 dB/year). RNFL thickness reduced by -4.21 ± 0.25 µm/year from 1st month of follow-up. Eyes with an absence of initial VF improvement (β = 0.64; 0.30-0.98), RNFL thinning (β = 0.15; 0.08-0.23), increasing intraocular pressure (IOP; β = -0.11; -0.18 to -0.03) and severe glaucoma (β = -10.82; -13.61 to -8.02) were associated with VF deterioration. Eyes with VF deterioration (β = 0.19; 0.08-0.29), increasing IOP (β = -0.09; -0.17 to -0.01), and moderate (β = -6.33; -12.17 to -0.49) or severe glaucoma (β = -19.58; -24.63 to -14.52) were associated with RNFL thinning. Changes in RNFL structure and function occur over a 1-year follow-up period after trabeculectomy. Early VF improvement is more likely to occur in patients with mild/moderate glaucoma, whereas those with severe glaucoma show greater decline over one year. Our findings indicate that progression is observable using OCT, even in late-stage glaucoma.