Clinical Features of Pseudoexfoliative Glaucoma in Treated Polish Patients

The aim of this study was to describe clinical characteristics of glaucomatous optic neuropathy in treated Polish patients with pseudoexfoliative glaucoma.

In the course of the study, 348 eyes of 231 patients with pseudoexfoliative glaucoma. The patients involved in the study were treated in the Department of Diagnostic and Microsurgery of Glaucoma in Lublin between 2012 and 2019. The following parameters were assessed in the examination: visual acuity, slit-lamp biomicroscopy with evaluation of anterior segment of the eye, gonioscopic examination, stereoscopic fundus examination of the eye, intraocular pressure, visual field, and pachymetry.

The mean age of all the patients was 73.16 years (SD±8.03). The mean age of women was 74.06 (SD±6.97), and the mean age of men was 71.8 (SD±8.51, p=0.006265). Women represented 37.93% (n=132) of the studied group, while men 62.07% (n=216). In the group of patients younger than 65 years of age, 27.9% were male and 15% female (p=0.0021). In the whole studied group, mean peak IOP was 29.25 mmHg with higher mean values in male patients (M vs F: 33.24 mmHg vs 26.86 mmHg; p=0.000). Peak values exceeding 30 mmHg were significantly more frequent in males (M vs F: 56.5% vs 31.9%; p=0.0000). Peak IOP never exceeding 21 mmHg was observed in 18.6% of the patients. The mean value of MD (Mean Deviation) was -12.85 dB in the whole group. The men were more likely to have more advanced glaucoma, according to MD (M vs F: -16.35 dB vs -11.13 dB; p=0.0000).

Pseudoexfoliative glaucoma was more frequently observed in men with younger age, higher IOP, and more advanced glaucoma. Normotensive glaucoma was observed in 18.6% of the patients with pseudoexfoliative glaucoma.