[Personal experience with non-contact tonometry in children]

In a comparative study of the tonometer Pulsair 2000 (PA) with Goldmann's applanation tonometry (AT) on 240 eyes of children aged 7-18 years the mean value of intraocular pressure (IOP) was 17.09 torr +/- 4.35 SD when using AT and 16.86 torr +/- 4.56 when using PA. Regression analysis revealed a close correlation between the two methods (r = 0.86) with high statistical significance (p < 0.0005). It was found that PA had a tendency to underestimate the IOP at lower levels and overestimate it at levels above 19 torr. Between 13 and 24 torr, however, the difference between AT and PA on average was not greater than 1 torr. The mean scatter of IOP values during individual measurements was 1.25 torr with AT and 1.5 torr with PA, the difference being at the borderline of statistical significance (p = 0.055). A scatter under 2 torr was recorded in 92.1% eyes using AT and 86.7% when using PA, under 3 torr 98.3% and 94.2% eyes respectively. The analysis revealed moreover that the accuracy of assessment in PA is improved by longer experience of the examining physician, while in AT the relationship was not unequivocal. The authors consider assessment of IOP by means of a non-contact portable tonometer Pulsair 2000 comparable with AT and consider PA suitable for use in children.