Adherence to visual field examination in glaucoma patients during the Coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak

We described the proportion of adherence to the scheduled visual field (VF) examination and the associated factors in glaucoma patients in a tertiary referral center during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in Taiwan. Patients with scheduled VF examinations during May 25th to July 12th, 2021, were retrospectively evaluated. Clinical characteristics including type of glaucoma, intraocular pressure (IOP) at the day of arranging VF examinations, prescriptions of anti-glaucoma medications, non-medical glaucoma treatment, length of glaucoma history, mean deviation (MD) of VF defect, and announcement of glaucoma progression were recorded. The associations between the adherence and the clinical factors were analyzed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression. There were 204 patients included, of which 37 patients (18.14%) adhered to VF examinations. A total of 161 patients (78.9%) were diagnosed with open-angle glaucoma (OAG), 27 patients (13.2%) with angle closure glaucoma, and 16 patients (7.8%) with glaucoma suspect. Most of the participants (41.2%) had mild VF defect and had been prescribed with no more than 1 bottle of anti-glaucoma medication. In the multivariate analysis, diagnosis of glaucoma suspect (P = .02) and history of SLT (P = .04) were significantly associated with better adherence. Glaucoma severity and the announcement of glaucoma progression were not significantly associated with adherence to VF examination. The COVID-19 pandemic had greatly influenced the adherence to VF examination in glaucoma patients. This study demonstrated that patients with the diagnosis of glaucoma suspect and history of SLT were more likely to adhere to VF examinations even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Automated summary

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly influenced the adherence to VF examination in glaucoma patients, but patients with the diagnosis of glaucoma suspect and history of SLT were more likely to adhere to VF examinations during the pandemic.