Fluorescein Angiographic Defects of the Optic Disc in Glaucomatous Visual Field Loss

The areas of absolute fluorescein filling defects of the optic discs of glaucoma patients and the areas of visual field, determined with the Goldmann perimeter, were measured by planimetry. There was a significant negative correlation between the percent areas of filling defects and the areas of the visual fields. With minimal field loss, the percent areas of filling defects were significantly greater in glaucoma patients than in comparable normal and ocular hypertensive patients. These observations support the concepts that fluorescein filling defects of the optic disc in patients with glaucoma, representing areas of ischemia, may both precede visual field loss and also are highly correlated with it.