Intereye differences of false-negative response in patients with unilateral glaucomatous visual field defect

Objective: To determine the intereye differences of false negative-responses rate (FN) and mean deviation (MD) in glaucoma patients with unilateral visual field defect. Methods: Sixty-six glaucoma patients with damaged visual field in one eye and normal fellow eye received automated perimetry (Octopus 101 perimeter) during Jan, 2000 and Oct, 2002 at affiliated hospital of medical college of Qingdao University. Intereye differences of false-negative responses rate (FN) and MD of visual field, acuity, IOP, test duration, c/d ratio and their relationship were analyzed. Results: FN was significantly different between damaged eyes and normal eyes (P < 0.01) without obvious correlation with testing sequence. No significant intereye differences were found in visual acuity, IOP and pupil diameter(P > 0.05). FN was related to MD in damaged eyes (r = 0.74, P = 0.003), while no significant relationship between FN and MD was found in normal eyes (r = 0.05, P = 0.79). Conclusion: FN reflects only visual field state of glaucoma patients in some extent, so it is infeasible to take it as a predict index to evaluate the attentiveness of patients.