Detecting glaucomatous progression with infrequent visual field testing

Abstract

Purpose: Previous work has investigated whether a significant regression slope in the first 2 years for the summary index Mean Deviation (MD) is predictive of rapid (≤−2 dB year−1) glaucomatous visual field progression. This work assumed six visual fields were obtained as per management guidelines, but in clinical practice commonly only two or three fields are measured. We used simulation methods to investigate how reducing test frequency influences the prediction of rapid visual field progression, along with the influence of including criteria based on regression slope. Methods: We simulated visual field series (N = 100 000) spaced annually in the first 2 years and then biennially. We calcu..