[Therapeutic observance and life of patients with primary open-angle glaucoma. Apropos of 341 cases in the department of Marne].

Patient compliance with treatment is an important factor in chronic diseases such as primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). Among the 404 glaucoma patients included in our study in the department of Marne (France), 341 patients responded by completing an anonymous questionnaire at home in which the psychological effect of the illness, their knowledge about it, compliance with treatment and their relationships with the physician were explored. Sixty-eight per cent of these patients confirmed strict compliance with the treatment prescribed; this rate does not vary with respect to either the ophthalmologist (p = 0.57), or the duration of treatment (p = 0.42). Half of the remaining patients only alter the hours of their treatment and 6% forget to instill the eyedrops on certain days. According to our survey, the principal causes of poor compliance are forgetfulness, time constraints with other duties, poor doctor-patient relationship and lack of sufficient knowledge about the disease and its treatment. The majority of patients (59%) are minimally disturbed by the treatment; 2/3 of the subjects do not feel any change in their moral whereas 15% are more depressed or weakened since the time the illness was discovered. Fifty-six per cent of them observed little or no change in their vision; 32% believe to have a moderate or considerable repercussion and 6% claim a very severe visual deterioration. Generally, patients appear to have a positive attitude towards their illness and do not try to deny it. Thirty-eight per cent of them consider it as a handicap which they can overcome and 42% have either no particular opinion or take it as a minor event.