The effect of artificial tear administration on visual field testing in patients with glaucoma and dry eye

Abstract

To examine the effects of artificial tear administration on perimetry of primary open-angle glaucoma patients with dry eye. A total of 40 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma experienced in automated perimetry with symptoms of dry eye were enrolled in this study. After their pretest visit, they were instructed to use artificial tear four times a day in both eyes for 1 week. After 1 week, patients had visual field testing. Test taking time, reliability parameters (false-positive and false-negative errors) visual field indices and number of depressed points at different probability levels (P<5%, P<2%, P<1%, P<0.5%) in both total and pattern deviation plots were compared using paired Ttest. We found significant improvement in reliability parameters (false-positive errors from 2.4+/-2.1 to 2.1+/-1.9, P=0.02; and false-negative errors from 7.3+/-6.4 to 4.8+/-3.6, P=0.01) and visual field indices (MD increased from 5.97+/-5.61 to 4.57+/-4.53, P=0.001; PSD from 4.67+/-2.95 to 4.13+/-2.77, P=0.04 and SF decreased from 2.24+/-1.23 to 1.83+/-0.77, P=0.04) in the second testing after artificial tear administration. Test time significantly increased from 11.66+/-2.55 min to 14.26+/-1.36, P=0.001. The number of depressed points at probability levels P<1% (P=0.03) and P<0.5% (P=0.04) at total deviation plot and P<2% (P=0.02) and P<0.5% (P=0.009) in pattern deviation plot decreased significantly. Artificial tear administration in glaucomatous patients with dry eye seems to improve significantly reliability parameters and visual field indices.