Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Diurnal profiles of intraocular pressure at opening times in the doctor's office do not deliver enough information, especially nightly and early morning measurements are lacking. Self-tonometry using the automatic self-tonometer "Ocuton S" might be suitable to achieve valid 24-hour IOP profiles without the need to stay in a hospital.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

96 people were taught to use the automatic self-tonometer once. Those who had learnt self-tonometry after this training underwent a diurnal IOP profile for 24 hours in the hospital using Goldmann tonometry and self-tonometry every 4 hours at the same times of day. One to three days later, they created a third IOP profile at home using self-tonometry at the same intervals as at the hospital. The IOP profiles were then tested for equality.

RESULTS:

50 people out of 96 were able to perform self-tonometry after one training session. The IOP measurements of all three IOP profiles did not differ by more than 2 mmHg and thus may be considered comparable. There was no significant difference between daily curves, either.

CONCLUSIONS:

Self-tonometry using the automatic self-tonometer "Ocuton S" appears to be suitable to record diurnal profiles of intraocular pressure at home.