Skip to main content
PMC home page
The British Journal of Ophthalmology logoLink to The British Journal of Ophthalmology
. 1981 Jul;65(7):452–456. doi: 10.1136/bjo.65.7.452

Incidence of optic disc haemorrhages in chronic simple glaucoma and ocular hypertension.

J Gloster
PMCID: PMC1039548  PMID: 7260018

Abstract

1829 photographs of optic discs taken during routine examination and follow-up of 320 glaucoma patients and 169 cases of ocular hypertension were examined for the presence of haemorrhages on the disc. As expected, the observed incidence of disc haemorrhages rose with increase in the number of occasions on which the patient was photographed. It was concluded that at least one-third of glaucoma patients show a disc haemorrhage at one time or another. Disc haemorrhages were seen more often in patients with established glaucoma than in those with ocular hypertension. In patients with chronic simple glaucoma eyes with full fields and low cup: disc ratios showed haemorrhages less often than eyes with field defects and more advanced damage to the optic disc, but apart from this there was no marked tendency for haemorrhages to occur at a particular stage of the disease. Haemorrhages were more frequent in low-tension than in chronic simple glaucoma, but this was probably only part of a more general variation which was revealed when eyes were graded according to the maximum pressures ever recorded, there being a very significant trend in which more haemorrhages were found in eyes with lower than with higher intraocular pressures over the range from 10 to 60 mmHg.

Full text

PDF
452

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Begg I. S., Drance S. M. Progress of the glaucomatous process related to recurrent ischaemic changes at the optic disc. Exp Eye Res. 1971 Jan;11(1):141–141. doi: 10.1016/s0014-4835(71)80081-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Begg I. S., Drance S. M., Sweeney V. P. Ischaemic optic neuropathy in chronic simple glaucoma. Br J Ophthalmol. 1971 Feb;55(2):73–90. doi: 10.1136/bjo.55.2.73. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Chumbley L. C., Brubaker R. F. Low-tension glaucoma. Am J Ophthalmol. 1976 Jun;81(6):761–767. doi: 10.1016/0002-9394(76)90359-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Drance S. M., Begg I. S. Sector haemorrhage--a probable acute ischaemic disc change in chronic simple glaucoma. Can J Ophthalmol. 1970 Apr;5(2):137–141. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Drance S. M., Fairclough M., Butler D. M., Kottler M. S. The importance of disc hemorrhage in the prognosis of chronic open angle glaucoma. Arch Ophthalmol. 1977 Feb;95(2):226–228. doi: 10.1001/archopht.1977.04450020028004. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Drance S. M., Sweeney V. P., Morgan R. W., Feldman F. Studies of factors involved in the production of low tension glaucoma. Arch Ophthalmol. 1973 Jun;89(6):457–465. doi: 10.1001/archopht.1973.01000040459003. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Gloster J., Parry D. G. Use of photographs for measuring cupping in the optic disc. Br J Ophthalmol. 1974 Oct;58(10):850–862. doi: 10.1136/bjo.58.10.850. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Gloster J. Quantitative relationship between cupping of the optic disc and visual field loss in chronic simple glaucoma. Br J Ophthalmol. 1978 Oct;62(10):665–669. doi: 10.1136/bjo.62.10.665. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Gloster J. Vertical ovalness of glaucomatous cupping. Br J Ophthalmol. 1975 Dec;59(12):721–724. doi: 10.1136/bjo.59.12.721. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kottler M. S., Drance S. M. Studies of hemorrhage on the optic disc. Can J Ophthalmol. 1976 Apr;11(2):102–105. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Levene R. Z. Low tension glaucoma: a critical review and new material. Surv Ophthalmol. 1980 May-Jun;24(6):621–664. doi: 10.1016/0039-6257(80)90123-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Primrose J. Early signs of the glaucomatous disc. Br J Ophthalmol. 1971 Dec;55(12):820–825. doi: 10.1136/bjo.55.12.820. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Susanna R., Drance S. M., Douglas G. R. Disc hemorrhages in patients with elevated intraocular pressure. Occurrence with and without field changes. Arch Ophthalmol. 1979 Feb;97(2):284–285. doi: 10.1001/archopht.1979.01020010136007. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The British Journal of Ophthalmology are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES