Usefulness of corneal esthesiometry for screening diabetic retinopathy.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the usefulness of corneal esthesiometry for screening diabetic retinopathy.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study was carried out comprising 575 patients attending a diabetic retinopathy-screening program in the city of São Paulo. Corneal esthesiometry was assessed with the Cochet-Bonnet esthesiometer. The presence of diabetic retinopathy was detected with indirect fundoscopy. The validity of corneal esthesiometry in identifying diabetic retinopathy was evaluated by the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve.


RESULTS
Sensitivity and specificity analyses of the corneal esthesiometry for detecting the stages of diabetic retinopathy using different cut-offs showed values less than 80%. The best indices (72.2% sensitivity and 57.4% specificity) were obtained for the identification of patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy.


CONCLUSIONS
In the study series, corneal esthesiometry was not a good indicator of diabetic retinopathy.
Departamento de Oftalmologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil. alvarenga@oftalmo.epm.br
Lênio Souza
LS
Alvarenga
Elisabeth Nogueira
EN
Martins
Gustavo Teixeira
GT
Grottone
Paulo Henrique Avila
PH
Morales
Augusto
A
Paranhos
Denise de
Dd
Freitas
Marinho Jorge
MJ
Scarpi
D003315:Cornea / Q000502:physiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003941:Diagnostic Techniques, Ophthalmological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D012372:ROC Curve; D012677:Sensation; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity