Abstract
Purpose: :
To evaluate the profile of patients assisted during the World Glaucoma Week (WGW) 2011 in Araguari - Minas Gerais - Brazil.
Methods: :
Retrospective review of 132 charts of patients that were evaluated during the WGW 2011, at Presidente Antônio Carlos University (UNIPAC) in Araguari - Minas Gerais - Brazil. Evaluation of patients consisted of medical history (e.g. antidepressant use, diabetes, glaucoma, hypertension, migraine, thyroid disease), familial history (e.g. blindness, glaucoma), assessment of best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement by Goldmann applanation tonometry. Patients were also asked about the date of the last ophthalmic evaluation.
Results: :
Of the whole sample, 65.9% were female, and 53.8% were black. In relation to medical history, 22% were in use of antidepressants, 23% had diabetes, 9% had glaucoma, 50% had hypertension, 28% had migraine, and 3.8% had thyroid disease. Forty patients reported at least one case of glaucoma in family (30.3%). The mean IOP was 16.85 ± 3.79 mmHg (range: 10 to 28 mmHg) for right eyes (OD) and 17.19 ± 3.85 mmHg (range: 9 to 27 mmHg) for left eyes (OS). Among the 9 patients with known glaucoma, 3 had IOP higher than 21 mmHg. The mean BCVA (logMAR) was 0.30 ± 0.39 in OD and 0.35 ± 0.45 in OS. Although regular eye check-ups were important in order to provide early detection of preventable blindness diseases such as glaucoma, only 38.7% of the patients underwent ophthalmologic evaluation in the last 2 years. Even among the 40 patients with a family history of glaucoma, 42.5% were evaluated in the last 2 years (p=0.6842). Regarding the 9 patients with glaucoma diagnosis, 4 were evaluated in the last year. Overall, 58.3% of patients were referred for eye examination and 22.7% for evaluation by glaucoma specialist. Unfortunately, these patients did not show adequate knowledge about eye health.
Conclusions: :
For a disease that causes permanent blindness, it is truly unacceptable that so many people remain unaware of its impact and consequences. Individuals in our area need to be much more vigilant about ocular health, especially if they fall into one of the higher risk groups for some eye diseases. Therefore, in order to develop actions regarding the prevention of visual impairment and to promote the enhancement of eye health, the implementation of a program aiming at the care of eye health in the Public Health System is suggested.
Keywords: intraocular pressure • visual acuity • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence