Visual Field Progression in Retinitis Pigmentosa.

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Genetics
• Visual Neuroscience

Background:

• Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of inherited retinal diseases characterized by progressive vision loss.
• Understanding the rate and pattern of visual field (VF) decline is crucial for patient management and prognosis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To retrospectively analyze the rate of visual field (VF) progression in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP).
• To investigate how VF progression relates to different Goldmann visual field targets and patterns of inheritance.

Main Methods:

• Collected 275 kinetic VF tests from 52 RP subjects over a mean of 12 years.
• Calculated VF areas for Goldmann targets V4e, III4e, and I4e.
• Compared rates of VF loss across different targets and inheritance patterns.

Main Results:

• Annual VF decline rates were 7.5% (V4e), 10.7% (III4e), and 12.5% (I4e), all significant (P < 0.001).
• Rates differed significantly between targets (P < 0.001).
• While mean VF loss was higher in autosomal recessive (10.3%) and X-linked (7.2%) patterns compared to autosomal dominant (2.7%), these differences were not statistically significant (P > 0.05).

Conclusions:

• The rate of VF loss in RP patients varies depending on the visual field target used.
• Survival analysis indicated median ages of 37 and 55 years for driving disqualification and legal blindness, respectively.
• Findings aid in counseling RP patients regarding their expected visual field decline trajectory.