EXPLORING THE CRUCIAL ROLE OF PATTERN REVERSAL VISUAL EVOKED POTENTIALS (PRVEP) IN PATIENTS WITH PRIMARY OPEN-ANGLE GLAUCOMA

Asha Negi*, Yuvraj Singh, Shivani Mahajan and Ram Lal Sharma

ABSTRACT

Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), one of the most prevalent forms of glaucoma in India, is characterized by optic degenerative neuropathy with multiple factors. It is often linked to elevated intraocular pressure, resulting in distinctive visual field defects and damage to the optic nerve head. Visual evoked potential (VEP) has proven to be sensitive to glaucomatous optic neuropathy, as it aligns with the functions of retinal ganglion cells. Our study was a prospective comparative study, that involved the examination of both eyes in 40 patients with confirmed primary open-angle glaucoma and 40 age-matched individuals without glaucoma. The findings revealed a similar occipitofrontal circumference in both the study group and controls (53.80±1.88cm vs. 53.54±1.77cm, respectively, p=0.526). The VEP results indicated a statistically significant prolongation in the latency of P100 (117.29±16.84ms vs. 102.22±7.04ms, p=0.000) and a notable reduction in P100 amplitude (6.03 ±2.15μv vs. 8.07±4.02 μv, p=0.014) in the study group and controls as assessed by a student's t-test. Therefore, Visual evoked potential emerges as a crucial electrophysiological tool for assessing visual field defects in primary open-angle glaucoma, providing an objective measure of optic nerve function.

Keywords: Primary open-angle glaucoma, Optic nerve head, Visual evoked potential, Latency, Amplitude.