[The role of frequency doubling perimetry in the diagnosis of glaucoma: screening in employees of a public hospital in an urban area of São Paulo].
OBJECTIVE
To study the prevalence of glaucoma in employees of a public hospital in São Paulo and to analyze the role of frequency doubling perimetry along with non-contact tonometry and direct ophthalmoscopy, in the screening for glaucoma.


METHODS
612 employees of the Central Hospital of the "Santa Casa de São Paulo" were evaluated from October 15 to 20, 2000; 438 were women and 174 men, with mean age of 45.05+/-7.7 years (range, 35 to 81 years); 437 were white, 104 mulatto, 43 black and 28 Asian. All examinations were done by 10 eye specialists with experience in glaucoma. All employees had both eyes examined, by means of frequency doubling perimetry (FDT), ophthalmoscopy (FO), and non-contact tonometry (TNC).


RESULTS
159 (25.98%) subjects presented with at least one abnormal testing; 5 (3.14%) had high IOP (TNC+); 13 (8.17%) presented suspicious disk (FO+); 110 (69.18%) presented abnormal FDT (FDP+); 8 (5.03%) TNC+ and FO+; 10 (6.28%) had TNC+ and FDT+; 9 (5.66%) presented FO+ and FDT+; 4 (2.51%) had TNC+, FO+ and FDT+; 12 (1.96%) individuals were diagnosed with glaucoma, four of whom (0.65%), with normal pressure glaucoma.


CONCLUSIONS
Frequency doubling perimetry was found to be an important step in the screening for glaucoma in the study. Of the 12 individuals that had the diagnosis of glaucoma, 5 (41.6%) would not have been diagnosed if they had not undergone frequency doubling perimetry.
Almeida
Geraldo Vicente de
GV
Departamento de Oftalmologia, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Santa Casa de São Paulo.
Mandia Júnior
Carmo
C
Paolera
Maurício Della
MD
Kasahara
Niro
N
Caixeta-Umbelino
Cristiano
C
Almeida
Paula Boturão de
PB
Eliezer
Ricardo Nunes
RN
Pinheiro
Renato Klingelfus
RK
Seixas
Francisco Soares
FS
Flank
Mauricio
M
Villaça Filho
Eduardo
E
Cohen
Ralph
R
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006779:Hospitals, Public; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009887:Ophthalmoscopy; D010564:Personnel, Hospital; D015995:Prevalence; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014065:Tonometry, Ocular; D014505:Urban Population; D058609:Visual Field Tests / Q000379:methods*