[Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of chronic open angle glaucoma at a Yaoundé Hospital].
This retrospective study examined the files of patients who consulted at the Women's and Children's Hospital of Yaoundé in Cameroon from March 2003 through December 2006. The main objective was to determine the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients diagnosed with chronic open-angle glaucoma (COAG).


RESULTS
Of 8,123 files reviewed, 184 patients (54.3% women) were diagnosed with COAG, all but one binocular. Their mean age was 62.2+/-13.01 years. According to the WHO definition of blindness, the rate of bilateral blindness was 34.2%, that of unilateral blindness 21% and low vision 17.4%. Significant statistic correlations were observed between the cup depth of the optic disc and visual acuity on one hand, and between the level of intraocular pressure and cup depth on the other, p=0.0001. Approximately 90.67% of the eyes with glaucoma had high pressure and 9.23% normal pressure.


CONCLUSIONS
COAG is a major cause of visual disability in Cameroon. Intraocular pressure is an important risk factor, but its positive predictive value for the impairment of optic disc fibres is low (R=0.29); other factors (apoptosis and ischemia of the optic disc) are associated with it.


CONCLUSIONS
Advanced strategies for early diagnosis of COAG are essential, for this disease is an important cause of blindness. Such programmes would significantly delay the onset of visual disabilities.
Eballé
André Omgbwa
AO
Hôpital gynéco-obstétrique et pédiatrique de Yaoundé, Boîte postale 4362, Yaoundé, Cameroon. andyeballe@yahoo.fr
Owono
Didier
D
Bella
Assumpta L
AL
Ebana
Côme
C
Long
Din
D
Aboutou
Rosalie
R
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001766:Blindness / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D002163:Cameroon; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D005902:Glaucoma, Open-Angle / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009898:Optic Disk; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015354:Vision, Low; D014792:Visual Acuity; D014944:World Health Organization