SCREENING FOR GLAUCOMA IN RURAL POPULATION: A HOSPITAL BASED STUDY

AIM To estimate the prevalence of blindness due to glaucoma in patients aged 40 years and above attending Tertiary Care Hospital. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study was conducted in the Department of Ophthalmology, Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Sevagram. Visual acuity, anterior segment examination and anterior chamber depth assessment by slit lamp, digital tension, non-contact tonometry, confrontation field test, fundus examination, direct ophthalmoscopy and fundus imaging was done. Gonioscopy and automated perimetry was done in glaucoma suspects. RESULTS 7600 eyes of 3800 patients were examined, 108 eyes were diagnosed to have glaucoma. Based on the best corrected visual acuity, 15(13.8%) eyes and 8(0.22%) persons had visual impairment and 33(30.5%) eyes and 20(31.7%) persons were blind. The prevalence of glaucoma in eyes was 1.42%. The prevalence of blindness due to glaucoma in eyes was 0.43% and person was 0.52%. The prevalence of Primary Open Angle Glaucoma in eyes was 1%, Primary Angle Closure Glaucoma in eyes was 0.15%, Neovascular glaucoma in eyes was 0.07%, Lens Induced Glaucoma in eyes was 0.17% and Pseudoexfoliative Glaucoma in eyes was 0.03%. IOP>20mmHg was present in 50(36.1%) glaucomatous eyes, majority of the eyes being in Open Angle Glaucoma 24(31.5%) eyes; 58(53.7%) glaucomatous eyes had IOP in the range 11-20mmHg, among them 38 eyes were on treatment and 20 eyes were operated. CONCLUSION Being an irreversible disease if diagnosed early, blindness can be avoided. So screening is very important for early diagnosis and their proper management thereon.