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Intraocular pressure in leprosy patients without clinically apparent anterior segment pathology
A E Daniel1, S Arunthathi, L Bhat
1Dept. of Ophthalmology, Schieffelin Leprosy Research and Training Centre, Karigiri.
Indian Journal of Leprosy
|April 1, 1994
Summary
This study found that intraocular pressures in leprosy patients are not significantly lower than in healthy individuals. The widely held belief that leprosy patients commonly have low intraocular pressure is questioned.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Infectious Diseases
- Leprosy Research
Background:
- A common belief suggests lower intraocular pressure (IOP) in leprosy patients.
- This notion has implications for understanding ocular complications in leprosy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prevalence of low intraocular pressure in leprosy patients.
- To compare IOP in leprosy patients with that of healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- Applanation tonometry was used to measure IOP in 166 leprosy patients without anterior segment pathology.
- IOP was also measured in 111 healthy controls.
- Data were analyzed for correlations with age, sex, disease classification, duration, and bacterial load.
Main Results:
- Mean IOP in leprosy patients (13.6 ± 3.0 mm Hg) was not significantly different from controls (13.1 ± 2.7 mm Hg).
- Only 1.5% of leprosy patients had IOP ≤ 7 mm Hg.
- No significant correlations were found between IOP and age, sex, Ridley-Jopling classification, disease duration, or bacterial indices.
Conclusions:
- The study challenges the prevalent belief of commonly low intraocular pressure in leprosy patients.
- The findings suggest that low IOP may not be as common in leprosy, especially with Multi-Drug Therapy (MDT).
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