Viability of Performing Multiple 24-2 Visual Field Examinations at the Same Clinical Visit: The Frontloading Fields...

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Clinical Optometry
• Visual Science

Background:

• Perimetric testing is crucial for diagnosing and monitoring glaucoma.
• Low test-retest reliability in singleton visual field tests can complicate clinical decision-making.
• Current guidelines may recommend multiple perimetric data points for confident inferences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility of frontloading perimetric examinations within a single clinic visit.
• To assess the time efficiency and repeatability of multiple visual field tests performed consecutively.
• To determine if frontloading enhances the reliability of perimetric data for glaucoma assessment.

Main Methods:

• A study involving 329 participants (healthy, glaucoma suspects, glaucoma patients) in a glaucoma clinic.
• Each participant underwent two perimetric tests per eye using SITA-Faster within the same session.
• Analysis included global indices, pointwise sensitivity, probability scores, test duration, and reliability metrics.

Main Results:

• A significant proportion of tests (58.4% right eye, 67.5% left eye) yielded reliable results.
• Most subjects (83.8%) completed all tests in under 20 minutes.
• No clinically significant differences were observed in global indices or pointwise scores between the two tests, indicating good repeatability.

Conclusions:

• Frontloading perimetric testing with SITA-Faster is a viable strategy for acquiring reliable and repeatable visual field data.
• This approach addresses practical challenges associated with low reliability of single tests and aids in confirming visual field defects.
• Frontloading offers a practical method to meet recommendations for multiple perimetric data, supporting confident glaucoma progression monitoring.