Consistency of Ocular Palpation Tonometry with Goldmann Applanation Tonometry and its Reproducibility by Separate Examiners

Özet

Objectives: Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) remains to be the best known modifiable risk factor for glaucoma. Ocu-lar palpation tonometry (OPT) is an old, fast, and simple method for IOP measurement. The aim is to investigate accuracy, reproducibility of OPT, and its suitability to be used for screening purposes. Methods: Consecutive patients without corneal pathology and glaucoma diagnosis history were included in the study. After routine ophthalmologic examination, the IOP was measured by an ophthalmology specialist with Goldmann appla-nation tonometry (GAT). Later, a blinded other ophthalmology specialist and a resident evaluated the same patients’ IOP with OPT. Agreement between GAT and OPT and reproducibility of OPT were evaluated using Cohen’s kappa analysis. Results: A total of 214 eyes of 107 patients were included in the study with a mean IOP of 16.4±3.6 (min: 8, max: 27) mmHg with GAT. OPT measurements by the resident ophthalmologist and the ophthalmology specialist were in con-cordance with GAT for 44.4% and 50.5% of the evaluations, respectively. We could not detect a significant kappa value for the agreement between GAT and OPT measurements by the resident ophthalmologist (p=0.333), whereas a slight agreement was found between GAT and OPT measurements by the ophthalmology specialist (k=0.176, p=0.001). OPT measurements showed slight reproducibility (k=0.153, p=0.009). Conclusion: OPT has low reliability and reproducibility and is not suitable to be used as a screening test. Except obliga-tory states, it should not be used as a primary and only test and must be verified by other methods.