To determine the correlations of intraocular pressure (IOP) with risk factors in rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) patients.

A total of 113 eyes in 113 consecutive patients with RRD were enrolled in this study. IOP was measured using applanation tonometry at the initial visit. Based on the difference in IOP between the affected and unaffected eyes, the subjects were divided into two groups: group 1 (IOP difference ≤ 2 mmHg) and group 2 (IOP difference > 2 mmHg). Correlations between the IOP and RRD morphology, visual acuity (VA), best-corrected VA (BCVA), retinal break size and location, range of retinal detachment, macular involvement, and proliferative vitreoretinopathy were analyzed.

The IOP at the initial visit was 12.88 ± 3.2 mmHg in the affected eyes and 14.27 ± 2.5 mmHg in the unaffected eyes. The IOP difference between the affected and unaffected eyes was −1.40 ± 2.82 mmHg. The BCVA and range of retinal detachment showed statistically significant differences between groups 1 and 2.

In patients with RRD, the IOP difference compared to the unaffected eye was correlated with the extent of area of retinal detachment and decreased BCVA.