The routine use of the 10-2 visual field (VF) testing pattern to assess the rate of progression in early glaucoma offers little overall additional clinical value, according to researchers from the Albuquerque VA Medical Center. Their study compared rates of mean deviation (MD) change on 24-2 and 10-2 VF tests in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) or glaucoma suspects to determine if the 10-2 VF test pattern provides advantages for identifying VF progression compared with the 24-2 test pattern.

Little information has been published so far regarding the utility of 10-2 VF testing for detecting progressive loss. Nicole Charry, OD, of the VA Medical Center at the University of Houston College of Optometry, presented the group’s findings at the American Academy of Optometry meeting in Orlando in mid-October.

The research assessed a cohort of 133 participants (77 POAG at the mild stage, 56 glaucoma suspects) every four to six months and alternated 10-2 and 24-2 VF tests at the visits.

MD change rates for both 24-2 and 10-2 VF tests were related to each other, diagnosis, baseline age, presence of baseline VF defects and baseline MD. However, when comparing MD rates for 24-2 and 10-2 tests within subjects, no differences were found for either eye, both within the total sample and when limiting analyses to POAG subjects only.

Only 2.7% of eyes had a 10-2 MD rate that exceeded 24-2 MD rate by more than 1dB/year. “While 10-2 may have value for episodic testing in glaucoma, the study does not support replacement of the 24-2 or frequent regular testing using the 10-2 for monitoring early glaucoma,” Dr. Charry concluded.