Goniodysgenesis in elderly glaucoma and non-glaucoma patients. A masked slit-lamp and gonioscopy study

The aim was to elucidate whether goniodysgenesis is more frequently observed in elderly patients with glaucoma, and furthermore, which signs of goniodysgenesis are of importance and most unanimously detected. Thus, 3 examiners evaluated 21 glaucoma patients and 19 non-glaucoma patients in a masked fashion. None of the patients had a first-degree heredity. Gonioscopy, slit-lamp examination and measurements of the corneal and pupillary diameter were performed, in all 26 variables. Significantly (P less than 0.05) more frequent in glaucoma were an increased corneal diameter, scleral overriding, hypoplasia of the pupillary seam, abnormal Schwalbe's line and an opaque pretrabecular membrane (one examiner). Less frequent were a peripupillary yellow pigment ring and pigment stars on the lens. Inter-observer variation was small regarding e.g. corneal diameter but rather large regarding e.g. the pretrabecular membrane.