Glaucoma Often Goes Unsuspected in Vein Occlusion Cases

Subtypes of glaucoma at varying severities can develop in patients with retinal vein occlusion, including primary open-angle glaucoma, normal-tension glaucoma, primary angle-closure glaucoma and chronic angle-closure glaucoma. Photo: Optos. Click image to enlarge. There are times when a preexisting condition can help uncover an underlying disease going unrecognized. In a recently published paper, researchers from China discovered that glaucoma could remain hidden in patients suffering from retinal vascular disease.“While many studies have focused on the association between RVO and the risk of primary open-angle glaucoma, research on the specific prevalence rates of glaucoma in RVO patients remains limited,” said the authors in their paper.Because of the association and the unique manifestation of these conditions, researchers believe that “implementing systemic glaucoma screening in patients with RVO is essential.”Researchers attempted to deepen the correlation between the two conditions by following up with RVO patients and regularly testing them. A total of 610 subjects with RVO were chosen for this study and continued with further examination if a case of primary glaucoma was suspected.Between 2018 and 2025, a total of 94 (15.4%) RVO patients were diagnosed with primary glaucoma. Specifically, 56 (9.2%) patients were diagnosed with primary open-angle glaucoma and 38 (6.2%) were diagnosed with primary angle-closure glaucoma.“One particularly striking finding was that 45.7% of primary glaucoma cases were underdiagnosed at the time of RVO presentation,” said the authors. “These findings highlight a nuanced relationship between different subtypes of primary glaucoma and the risk of RVO but should be interpreted cautiously due to the observational design of the study.”Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) is one of the most common retinal vascular diseases, and glaucoma is one of the leading causes of irreversible blindness. Researchers believe that “implementing systemic glaucoma screening in patients with RVO is essential” because an association between the two exists and each manifests uniquely in the eye, disrupting vision in their own ways.Click here for the journal source. Bao Q, Zheng Y, Zeng W, et al. The hidden primary glaucoma in retinal vein occlusion: a call for systemic screening. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. April 2, 2026. [Epub ahead of print]. This article was developed by the editorial staff in conjunction with experts in the field. In the process, AI may have been among the editorial tools used to meet the goals of human editors, who approved all content.