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Fight the silent thief of sight: glaucoma incidence in citizens of Sassari
Author(s) -
Murgia Umberto,
Brunoro Andrea
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
acta ophthalmologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.534
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1755-3768
pISSN - 1755-375X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-3768.2020.0250
Subject(s) - medicine , glaucoma , ophthalmology , asymptomatic , intraocular pressure , ocular hypertension , fundus (uterus) , optic nerve , optic disc , nerve fiber layer , optometry , surgery
Purpose To identify the silent thief of sight in asymptomatic citizens of Sassari and assess the importance of the screening in glaucoma. Methods Seven ophthalmologists performed free specialist examinations and included 322 asymptomatic subjects from 40 to 80 years. All volunteers attended the screening with assessment of intraocular pressure (IOP, air‐puff tonometer TX‐f Canon) and optic disc evaluation by fundus biomicroscopy. Subjects with optic nerve cupping underwent retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and ganglion cell complex (GCC) thickness examination (i‐Vue OptoVue OCT). Results Subjects with a diagnosis of hypertension or treated for glaucoma were excluded. Of the total 322 volunteers included, 23.6% had glaucoma familiarity, 8.7% declared that the screening was the first ophthalmological visit and 55,28% stated that they had never been examined with tonometry before. IOP was >21 mmHg in the 7% and optic disc showed abnormal cupping in 6.8% of the volunteers. The 2.48% of the subjects had both ocular hypertension (IOP>21 mmHg) and papillary abnormalities, and 7.4% of the 27 OCT performed showed anomalies. Conclusions Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of irreversible blindness, but early detection and treatment could prevent severe vision loss. For these reasons, glaucoma screenings are fundamental even though they could have limited diagnostic power. In fact, subjects with OCT anomalies were directed to further examinations. The results of this screening are quite impressive, most of all the 8% of patients declaring that they had never underwent an ophthalmological visit and the 55% of patient that undertake a tonometry for the first time. The discrepancy between these data stresses the importance of a regular ophthalmological examination that is still confused with the visual acuity assessment made by opticians. Only a complete ophthalmological visit can diagnose conditions affecting irreversibly the vision, such as the silent thief of sight.