Contrast sensitivity assessment in primary open angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension

Introduction
Contrast sensitivity assessment is an important additional examination, which enables the full insight into the patient’s quality of vision, and early diagnosis of visual disturbances.

Material and methods
Forty six patients (92 eyes) with primary open angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension were enrolled in the study. The enrolment criteria were full or almost full visual acuity and the patients with visual field defects or any other ocular disease were excluded. Contrast sensitivity was assessed both under photopic and mesopic conditions (with and without glare) using the Functional Vision Analyzer separately for each eye. Furthermore, the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness was measured using scanning laser polarimetry (GDx).

Results
Contrast sensitivity was significantly reduced under both mesopic and photopic conditions in patients with primary open angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension.

Conclusions
Evaluation of contrast sensitivity is a valuable diagnostic test, which enables the assessment of visual dysfunction in patients with primary open angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension persisting despite good visual acuity.