[Cortisone-induced glaucoma: a report on 44 affected eyes (author's transl)]

Abstract

A clinical study of 44 eyes in 22 patients with cortisone-induced glaucoma confirmed the importance of the duration of employ of the corticoid. Those patients who had instilled the medication for less than 8 weeks recovered normal ocular tension after discontinuation of the corticoid. On the contrary, those who had employed the corticoid for more than 4 years did not regain normal ocular tension, and medical treatment, or even surgical therapy in a large number of cases, had to be employed. The frequency of congenital anomalies of the angle has to be emphasized, particularly persistence of the pectinate ligament. Papilla asymmetry was noted in a large percentage of cases, and was related to the difference in the stage of evolution of the eyes. The appearance of the papilla has important prognostic value. Of the patients with abnormal papilla, 61.9 p. cent had normal ocular tension after stopping treatment, but normal tension did not appear in patients with anexcavated and apale papilla. The authors consider trabeculotomy to be the operation of choice in cortisone induced glaucoma, but this tends to be ineffective in young patients because of sclerous and/or conjunctival blocking.