Optic disk cupping and pallor measurements of patients with a disk hemorrhage

We evaluated whether the rate of occurrence of glaucomatous disk damage in eyes with an optic disk hemorrhage differed from the rate of occurrence in control eyes. We compared 24 patients with a disk hemorrhage to 24 control patients, who had been matched for diagnosis, disk appearance, and visual fields. Cup volume and cup-to-disk area ratio of the optic disk were measured using the stereophotogrammetric technique, and area of pallor was measured using computerized image analysis. We found that diabetes increased the probability that a patient would have a disk hemorrhage, and that a hemorrhage was associated with progression of glaucomatous disk changes in half of the cases during the mean 3.1-year follow-up period. However, the mean rate of glaucomatous disk damage in patients with a hemorrhage was not different from matched control patients. A disk hemorrhage is a sign of later disk damage, but it does not alter the rate of glaucomatous disk progression.