Abstract
Purpose: :
Pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PXS) is the most common identifiable cause of secondary glaucoma. Its prevalence augments considerably among different ethnicities. The purpose was to account for the prevalence of PXS in patients undergoing preoperative evaluation for cataract surgery and combined cataract and glaucoma surgeries.
Methods: :
The characteristics of the PXS group were compared with those without PXS (control group). This prospective study was conducted on patients admitted for preoperative evaluation for cataract surgery or combined cataract and glaucoma surgery. The study was approved by the IRB. Outcome Measures: Prevalence of PXS, ethnic origin, age, gender, presence of Glaucoma, unilateral/bilateral PXS, vertical cup/disc (VCD) ratio, intraocular pressure (IOP), pupil dilation, cataract grade, and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA).
Results: :
The study investigated 363 patients, of which 53 had PXS (14.6%) and 310 patients did not. In the PXS group, 86.7% (46/53) were from Eastern European origin and 29.6% (92/310) in the control. Average age in the PXS group was 76.8 years (SD±5.73) and 72.1 (SD±9.79) in the control (p=0.0009). In the PXS group 31 patients were female (58.4%). Among the PXS group 26.4% had Glaucoma and 10.96% in the control (p=0.0013). PXS was observed to be unilateral in 43% of the group. VCD wasn’t found to be significantly different between the groups. Average IOP in PXS group was 14.6 mmHg and in the control 13.53 mmHg (p=0.0007). Pupil dilation was classified as 0 if dilated well, and 1 in poor dilation. There was a significant difference between the groups in favor of the control (p=0.0032). Cataract presence was not different between the groups. Average BCVA in the PXS group was 6/46 and 6/37 in the control group (p=0.029).
Conclusions: :
The prevalence rate of PXS in our study resembles that published in the literature. In the PXS group the Eastern European descent predominated (83.6%). In the present study females were more affected with PXS (56.36%) than males, as compared to published data which show equal gender prevalence. As published in previous studies, in this present study glaucoma occurred more than two fold more in eyes with PXS (26.4%) than those without (10.96%, p=0.0013). Unilateral involvement (46%) was more common than found in the literature.
Keywords: clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence