AIM: To evaluate the damage to optic nerve by detecting the morphological and functional changes of optic nerve in patients with acute primary angle-closure glaucoma.

METHODS: The correlation among the positive rates of fundus photography, visual field examination, optical coherence tomography(OCT)scan of the optic nerve, and pattern visual evoked potentials(P-VEP)were analyzed in 28 patients with acute primary angle-closure glaucoma affecting.

RESULTS: Among 28 eyes of 28 patients, optic nerve images were obtained in 25 eyes(89%), optic disc color in 25 eyes: there were 9 normal eyes and 16 eyes with congestion and edema, without pallor; C/D: < 0.6 in 5 eyes, > 0.6 in 1 eye, and indistinguishable in 19 eyes; disk edge: 6 eyes were normal, and 19 eyes could not be distinguished.Optic nerve images could not be obtained in 3 eyes(11%). Visual field examination: 9 eyes(32%)were normal, 2 eyes(7%)had visual field damage, 8 eyes(29%)had no reference value due to cataract visual field examination, 2 eyes(7%)had false positive rate ≥15%, and 7 eyes(25%)could not cooperate with the examination. The retinal nerve fiber layer thickness around optic disc was measured by OCT in 26 eyes(93%), of which the thickness of nerve fiber layer was normal in 24 eyes and local thinning in 2 eyes. Severe opacification of refractive stroma could not be measured in 2 eyes(7%). PVEP showed that the peak of P100 was normal in 18 eyes(64%)and prolonged in 10 eyes(36%). The amplitude of P100 wave was normal in 11 eyes(39%)and decreased in 17 eyes(61%).

CONCLUSION: After a major acute attack of primary angle-closure glaucoma, the optic nerve does not exhibit typical glaucomatous damage but may present with optic disc congestion and edema. Therefore, a comprehensive evaluation combining subjective and objective examination methods is necessary for optic nerve assessment, and currently, no more precise assessment method is available.