Glaucoma screenings with fast perimetry provide ‘reasonably good’ detection

TOKYO — Mass glaucoma screenings using only an abbreviated visual field test appear to be “reasonably good” at identifying glaucoma suspects, according to a study here.

The hospital- and population-based cross-sectional study, conducted by the Glaucoma Screening Project Study Group, found that frequency-doubling technology (FDT) perimetry detected 83.3% of subjects with early-stage glaucoma and 100% of subjects with moderate or advanced glaucoma.

According to investigators, FDT offers many advantages for mass screening. They noted its ease of use, short exam time and the instrument's portability and cost-effectiveness.

Two study populations were enrolled: 103 glaucoma patients (mean age 62 years) and 14,814 workers or their spouses (mean age 41) randomly selected from five companies. FDT testing identified the disease stages of the 103 consecutive patients as 22 at risk, 13 suspicious and 68 with confirmed glaucoma. Of those 68, 12 were identified as having early glaucoma, 13 with moderate glaucoma and 43 with advanced glaucoma.

Of the 14,814 workers or their spouses, 88.1% had no abnormalities. In addition, 3.3% of subjects showed no reproducible results between first test and retest. Of the 370 in whom no visual field abnormalities had been pointed out previously and who went onto further exams, 71.9% had a glaucomatous disc and 45.1% had definite glaucomatous visual field abnormality.