Are optic disc haemorrhages a common finding in all glaucoma patients?

Disc haemorrhages are an important risk factor in development and progression of glaucomatous damage, but it is not known whether such bleedings can be found in all glaucoma patients. In this retrospective study of 1506 patients with manifest or suspected glaucoma, sequential optic disc stereophotographs revealed a disc haemorrhage in 94 cases. Distribution of the haemorrhagic and non-haemorrhagic patients according to the frequency of photography indicates that the 2 groups of patients represent different glaucoma populations. Furthermore, patients who do not show a haemorrhage in 1 or 2 random examinations probably will not show a bleeding in the later follow-up, either.