Intraocular pressure, cup-disc ratio, and steroid responsiveness in retinal detachment

A review of the literature failed to indicate whether the high incidence of open angle glaucoma in patients with nontraumatic rhegmatogenous retinal detachment is due to common genetic determinants. The diurnal variation of intraocular pressure, the cup-disc C/D ratio, and the intraocular response to topically applied corticosteroids were studied in 30 subjects with unilateral, nontraumatic, rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. The results indicate that 20% of the subjects were high steroid responders and that 53% had a C/D ratio greater than 0.3. We shall discuss the relationship of these findings to the multifactorial inheritance of open angle glaucoma.