Large changes in intraocular pressure (IOP), also known as the pressure within the eye, in patients with glaucoma, tends to be associated with a progression of the disease that can result in permanent damage to a person’s optic nerve and their vision. The IOP fluctuates throughout the day, yet so far, eye pressure can only be measured clinically, and is therefore restricted to a clinic’s daytime opening hours.
A new study, published in the February issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus , has provided parents with an Icare Rebound Tonometer to evaluate IOP patterns in normal children at home. The device has produced similar values to a clinical measurement and may prove beneficial for the study and treatment of children with glaucoma.
Leading researcher, Sharon F. Freedman, MD, Professor of Ophthalmology and Pediatrics, Chief, Pediatric Division, Duke Eye Center declared:
“Diabetes is monitored by patients using home glucose monitors, but there has been no equivalent home technique for patients to use to measure their own eye pressures – until recently. We found that home measurement of IOP is not only quite possible, but provides some baseline information about the expected variability of eye pressures in the normal eyes of healthy children. We hope this will open the door to the use of home tonometry for selected children and adults with known glaucoma, and will be helpful in managing the disease.”
The researchers trained the parents of 11 children to use the Icare rebound tonometer until they were able to reliably obtain their children’s IOPs. The device does not require anesthetic drops or specialized training, and the parents were instructed to measure their child’s IOP 6 times per day for two consecutive days, from 6:00 am to 11:00 pm.
All participants reported no complaints, discomfort or adverse effects and found the Icare tonometry was well tolerated.
Dr. Freedman explained:
“We found that normal eyes of healthy children have a fluctuation in eye pressure of about five mm Hg throughout the day. The eye pressure tends to be higher in the morning and lower in the evening, and ‘what the right eye does, so does the left eye,’ in that the two normal eyes of a healthy child go up and down in unison.”
Editor-in-Chief for AAPOS, David G Hunter, MD, PhD of the Children’s Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School commented:
“Measurement of eye pressure has long been a challenge in children and has only been possible in the office. This study shows that it may be possible for people of all ages to measure eye pressure at home, which could provide important information about pressure changes on a daily basis that will advance the quality of care for glaucoma patients.”
Written by Petra Rattue