Neovascular Glaucoma at King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital – Etiologic Considerations

BACKGROUND: Neovascular glaucoma (NVG) is a severe form of secondary glaucoma caused by the growth of new vessels over the trabecular meshwork. The principal causes are associated with retinal ischemia. Ablative treatment of the retina can prevent, halt, and even reverse the growth of new vessels on the iris and angle. It is an essential part of the management in most cases. AIMS: To determine the causes of NVG among Saudi patients, presented at the King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital. METHODS: A retrospective review of 337 Saudi patients with NVG was obtained. All cases were reviewed for the evidence and causes of the disease, and their basic demographic information. A subset of 100 diabetic patients with PDR was further studied in greater detail for clinical findings and treatment history. RESULTS: The most common primary etiologic associations for NVG included diabetic retinopathy (DR) (56.06%), retinal venous obstruction (26.40%), and chronic retinal detachment (03.56%). A history of diabetes mellitus was reported in 65.04%, systemic arterial hypertension was noted in 61.00%, and evidence of renal impairment was documented in 22.00%. Vision was markedly reduced in most eyes with NVG (median: hand motion). The median best visual acuity in the fellow eye was 20/160. Among the 100 cases, with DR as a cause of NVG, 43 patients had bilateral neovascularization of the iris (NVI) and 72 had bilateral PDR. Sixty-one patients had no previous laser treatment before the diagnosis of NVG. Among these, who received treatment, the median number of total laser spots was 1,003. CONCLUSIONS: Diabetes is a major cause of NVG presented to this tertiary eye care center in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia followed by retinal venous obstruction. Close monitoring and full pan-retinal photocoagulation (PRP) were absent in most of the diabetic cases. It is important to recognize that the “unaffected” fellow eye, particularly in diabetic patients, may require fairly urgent treatment as well.