Publication date: Jun 22, 2026
PURPOSE: To assess the reliability of standard automated perimetry in a real-life cohort of glaucoma patients and suspects wearing face masks due to the COVID-19 pandemic in a large German eye hospital. METHODS: Data of 160 eyes of 83 glaucoma patients and suspects who received at least one visual field examination and optical coherence tomography for glaucoma monitoring in 2018, 2019 and 2020 were included. Mean visual field defect and the rates of false-positive and false-negative responses between tests without (2019) and tests with a face mask (2020) were compared. Mean retinal nerve fibre layer thickness and the minimum rim width of Bruch’s membrane opening served as a control for glaucoma progression. RESULTS: No statistically significant difference between visual fields without a face mask, and examinations with a face mask could be detected for mean defect (p = 0. 075), rate of false-positives (p = 0. 7) and rate of false-negatives (p = 0. 16). CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that protective face mask wear does not impair the quality and reliability of standard automated perimetry in a real-life cohort of glaucoma patients and glaucoma suspects.
| Concepts | Keywords |
|---|---|
| Covid | Automated |
| German | Cohort |
| Pandemic | Defect |
| Tomography | Face |
| False | |
| Glaucoma | |
| Life | |
| Mask | |
| Perimetry | |
| Real | |
| Reliability | |
| Standard | |
| Suspects | |
| Visual | |
| Wearing |
Semantics
| Type | Source | Name |
|---|---|---|
| disease | MESH | Face |
| disease | MESH | Glaucoma |
| disease | MESH | COVID-19 pandemic |
| disease | MESH | included |