Clinical evaluation of the intraocular pressure in patients with glaucoma or ocular hypertension by a self-assessable tonometer.

PURPOSE: To investigate the clinical efficacy of a new patient-operated intraocular pressure tool, the Proview eye pressure monitor (PEPM; Bausch & Lomb, Inc., Rochester, NY), for monitoring intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with glaucoma or ocular hypertension.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

One hundred and forty eyes of 70 Taiwanese patients from the Tri-Service General Hospital (Taiwan, Republic of China) who had been diagnosed with ocular hypertension or glaucoma were studied. After being fully trained during an initial clinic visit, patients measured their own IOP with the PEPM at home. The IOPs were measured again using a Haag-StreitBern Goldmann tonometer (GT; Haag-Streit, Köniz, Switzerland) during subsequent outpatient visits. The training time, assessment of the patients' ease of PEPM use, and accuracy of measured PEPM IOPs in relation to GT IOPs were recorded and analyzed.

RESULTS

Relative to GT readings, PEPM readings tended to be overestimated at lower pressure (<10 mmHg) and underestimated at higher pressure (>20 mmHg). Between 10 to 20 mmHg, PEPM measurements did not significantly differ from GT measurements. Up to 80% of the PEPM measurements fell within +/- 3 mmHg of the corresponding GT readings. When consideration was limited to GT readings of > or =21 mmHg, PEPM measured IOPs of > or =21 mmHg with a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of 90%. The mean satisfaction rating of PEPM use was 88.3 +/- 2.0 (maximum, 100). The mean training time for appropriate use of PEPM was 17.9 +/- 4.0 minutes. The older the patients, the longer the training time that was required.

CONCLUSION

Our data suggest that after appropriate training: (1) PEPM and GT measurements correspond well between 10 mmHg and 20 mmHg and (2) PEPM could offer patients with glaucoma or ocular hypertension an easy-to-use, substantially reliable means of selfmonitoring IOP.