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Rationale, aims and objectives To develop a short screening test for the detection of preclinical glaucoma. Method This case-control study involved 690 participants aged 40 years or older: 338 patients with glaucoma or suspected glaucoma and 352 patients without glaucoma, who served as a control group. All participants were interviewed by a single trained research assistant. Patients' basic demographic and clinical information, past ophthalmic history and responses on the National Eye Institute 25-item Visual Function Questionnaire were collected. Two glaucoma-trained ophthalmologists examined all the participants using standard procedures to make a diagnosis. The biostatistical differences between the two groups were determined. Results Five items were selected for glaucoma screening: 'Sense of worse vision compared with those of the same age', 'Ocular pain or discomfort during the past 6 months', 'History of cataract', 'Family history of glaucoma' and 'Hyperopia'. A score of 2 or more was used to define a group of positive cases with the most appropriate values for sensitivity (79.0%), specificity (76.7%) and predictive power (a positive predictive value of 76.5% and a negative predictive value of 79.2%). Conclusion A five-item instrument was developed to detect preclinical glaucoma. Anyone with a score of 2 or more may need further ophthalmic examination and treatment
P. Chou. Community Medicine Research Center and Institute of Public Health, National Yang-Ming University, Sh, . Email: pschou@ym.edu.tw
1.6 Prevention and screening (Part of: 1 General aspects)