Clinical study of Korean glaucomatous patients

ABSTRACT

In order to determine the distribution of each type of glaucoma in Korea, a retrospective clinical study was carried out on 206 glaucomatoils patients (295 eyes) who were followed from July 1982 to December 1985 in theClaucoma Clinic of the Department of Ophthalmology of Hanyang University Hospital. The distribution of glaucomatous patients was as follows; 34.0% primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG),32.5% secondary glaucoma,20.9% primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG),7.3% ocular hypertension,3.9% congenital glaucoma, and 1.5% low tension glaucoma. In serondary glaucoma, glaucoma associated with uveitis occurred most frequently, and aphakic glaucoma, neovascular glaucoma, steroid-induced glaucoma, pigmentary glaucoma and exfoliative glauroma followed. The acute stage of PACG presented the highest initial IOP, 55.2+/-8.4mmHg, where as the initial IOP of POAG patients was 33.4+/-15.5 mmHg. Sixty-two per percent of POAG and 98% of PACG patients were over 40 years of age, and the mean age of the POAG and PACG patients was 43.1+/-16.3 and 61.6+/-9.5 years, respectively. There was no remarkable sex-difference associated with glaucoma, in PACG which showed an incidence of 79.1% in females. There was no significant difference in laterality between the right and left eyes with either glaucoma or ocular hypertension. Bilateral involvement of POAG and PACG during the follow-up period was 7l.4% and 32.6%, respectively.