Visual field changes in glaucoma patients during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in a middle-income country

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background To assess the possible effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the progression of visual field in glaucoma patients attending a charity hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Research design and methods This retrospective study included all glaucoma patients attending the Glaucoma Service Santa Casa of Sao Paulo from July 2019 to October 2021. Data retrieved from the charts included intraocular pressure (IOP), information about missing appointments and non-adherence to medical treatment, mean deviation (MD), and pattern standard deviation (PSD) of Humphrey visual field. Pre- and late in-pandemic data were compared with the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results There was no statistically significant difference between pre- and in-pandemic values of MD, and PSD values (all P > 0.05). Fifty eyes (27.9%) of 36 patients (36%) revealed an −2 dB decrease in the MD value. Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic did not affect visual field progression in most of patients. However, about a third of patients presented a decrease in the MD value >-2 dB in at least one eye especially those with advanced disease. As a slowly progressive optic neuropathy, the two-year time of the pandemic was possibly not long enough to impact negatively on the glaucoma progression in most of patients.