RISK FACTORS FOR PROGRESSING TO BLINDNESS FROM PRIMARY OPEN ANGLE GLAUCOMA
Yordan Yordanov
Pages: 102-107
ABSTRACT: Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversibe blindness worldwide. Despite the numerous studies, the disease remains a challenge because of the unclear etiopathogenesis, many factors
favoring the appearance of g laucoma, difficulties in the diagnosis and management which the
ophthalmologists face.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the risk factors for the occurrence of blindness in
primary open angle glaucoma. Material and methods: The study enrolled 302 pa tients diagnosed
with primary open angle glaucoma treated in SBOBAL Varna.
For the evaluation were used sociological and clinical methods. SPSS v. 20.0 was used for
variation, dispersion, correlation, and risk assessment analysis. Results and Discussion: In our
study unilateral blindness was identified in 14.4% (42 patients), whereas bilateral in 1.4% (4
patients). There is a statistical significance in the results regarding therapy, IOP measurements
and light sensitivity. We identified that the highest risk factor for glaucoma progression leading to
blindness is age patients over the age of 60 (1.758). It was difficult to detect changes in the
visual field in patients with cataract. These results correspond to the those discussed from other
authors in various studies.
Conclusions: Blindness in patients with POAG is due to late stage diagnosis and severe visual
field damage resulting from inadequate therapy and follow up.
Keywords: risk factors, POAG, blindness, progression
