Gloria M Elongo, Nicole N Buvy, Nelly N Kabedi, Jean-Claude Mwanza
{"title":"Glaucoma Severity Stage at First Visit at a University Eye Clinic in Congo.","authors":"Gloria M Elongo, Nicole N Buvy, Nelly N Kabedi, Jean-Claude Mwanza","doi":"10.1097/IJG.0000000000002458","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Prcis: </strong>Initial presentation of glaucoma at a major eye clinic mostly features advanced disease with a high proportion of blindness. This is likely a microcosm of a nationwide issue requiring concerted strategies to detect glaucoma early.</p><p><strong>Purpose: </strong>To characterize the severity stage of new glaucoma patients in Congolese attending a university eye clinic.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>New glaucoma patients (n=118) were labeled as early or late presenters based on visual field sensitivity in the worse eye.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Mean age was 58.9±15.7 years, 51.7% were males. Overall, the worse eye had advanced, whereas the better eye had moderate glaucoma, with an asymmetry of -7.4 dB ( P <0.001). Blindness was present in 30.5% of worse and 5.1% of better eyes. Seventy-two patients (61.0%) were late presenters. Visual acuity was lower ( P <0.001), intraocular pressure (IOP) higher ( P =0.02), cup-to-disc ratio larger ( P =0.011), and retinal nerve fiber layer thinner ( P =0.001) in late presenters' worse than better eye. The worse and better eyes of late presenters had advanced glaucoma, with a -9.6 dB interocular asymmetry ( P <0.001); 40.3% and 8.3% were blind, respectively. In early presenters, the worse and better eyes had moderate and early disease, respectively; the asymmetry was -3.2 dB ( P <0.001), and 15.2% were blind. Overall, 58.5% and 65.3% presented with advanced disease in the worse eye based on visual field and cup-to-disc ratio criteria of the Canadian Ophthalmological Society staging scale, respectively.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Most new glaucoma patients had bilateral advanced but asymmetric disease. These findings call for the establishment of community-based measures for early detection of glaucoma and a referral network system connecting community healthcare to tertiary eye clinics.</p>","PeriodicalId":15938,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Glaucoma","volume":" ","pages":"679-685"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Glaucoma","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1097/IJG.0000000000002458","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/6/28 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"OPHTHALMOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Prcis: Initial presentation of glaucoma at a major eye clinic mostly features advanced disease with a high proportion of blindness. This is likely a microcosm of a nationwide issue requiring concerted strategies to detect glaucoma early.
Purpose: To characterize the severity stage of new glaucoma patients in Congolese attending a university eye clinic.
Methods: New glaucoma patients (n=118) were labeled as early or late presenters based on visual field sensitivity in the worse eye.
Results: Mean age was 58.9±15.7 years, 51.7% were males. Overall, the worse eye had advanced, whereas the better eye had moderate glaucoma, with an asymmetry of -7.4 dB ( P <0.001). Blindness was present in 30.5% of worse and 5.1% of better eyes. Seventy-two patients (61.0%) were late presenters. Visual acuity was lower ( P <0.001), intraocular pressure (IOP) higher ( P =0.02), cup-to-disc ratio larger ( P =0.011), and retinal nerve fiber layer thinner ( P =0.001) in late presenters' worse than better eye. The worse and better eyes of late presenters had advanced glaucoma, with a -9.6 dB interocular asymmetry ( P <0.001); 40.3% and 8.3% were blind, respectively. In early presenters, the worse and better eyes had moderate and early disease, respectively; the asymmetry was -3.2 dB ( P <0.001), and 15.2% were blind. Overall, 58.5% and 65.3% presented with advanced disease in the worse eye based on visual field and cup-to-disc ratio criteria of the Canadian Ophthalmological Society staging scale, respectively.
Conclusions: Most new glaucoma patients had bilateral advanced but asymmetric disease. These findings call for the establishment of community-based measures for early detection of glaucoma and a referral network system connecting community healthcare to tertiary eye clinics.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Glaucoma is a peer reviewed journal addressing the spectrum of issues affecting definition, diagnosis, and management of glaucoma and providing a forum for lively and stimulating discussion of clinical, scientific, and socioeconomic factors affecting care of glaucoma patients.