Table 2 Summary of presenting symptoms, duration and medical history among patients with glaucoma Diagnosis and management of glaucoma Table 3 summarises the cadre of eye-care practitioners diagnosing glaucoma, type of glaucoma and management of the participants. The majority of initial diagnoses were made by ophthalmologists (48.6%) and ophthalmic selleck chem nurses (44.0%). The vast majority of cases were due to primary glaucoma (86.6%). Secondary glaucoma types included: phacomorphic, congenital, pigmentary, uveitic, neovascular and traumatic glaucoma. The most common medications used were levobunolol (72.7%) and brimonidine

(59%). Most patients (79.2%) did not have surgery to treat glaucoma. A minority (6.0%) had not received either surgical or medical treatment. Every patient interviewed reported difficulty in obtaining medications from government hospitals and had to either buy medication through private facilities or wait for medications to become available. Table 3 Summary of diagnosis, glaucoma type and management of glaucoma From the patient-held medical card, presenting intraocular pressure (IOP) was recorded in 204 participants. Of those, 175 (85.8%) had an IOP of greater than 21 mm Hg in one or both eyes at first presentation. The mean presenting IOP was 28.2 mm Hg (SD 11.9 mm Hg); the median presenting IOP was 25 mm Hg. Current vertical cup/disc ratio (CDR) was recorded from 144 participants; 133 (92.4%) had a CDR

of 0.6 or above in at least one eye. Patients’ knowledge of glaucoma before and after diagnosis Table 4 summarises the participants’ awareness and knowledge of glaucoma before diagnosis and after diagnosis. Only 11.5% of the participants had heard of glaucoma prior to being diagnosed. Many participants (35.9%) did not understand glaucoma after being diagnosed. Table 4 Summary of patients’ knowledge of glaucoma before and after diagnosis Screening of relatives for glaucoma The screening of living first-degree relatives of patients with primary glaucoma is shown in table 5. The vast majority of living relatives

(94.9%) have never been examined for glaucoma. The highest proportion of relatives checked was Batimastat parents of patients with glaucoma (11.1%). Table 5 Examination of living relatives of patients with primary glaucoma Number of newly diagnosed cases of glaucoma The number of new glaucoma cases at PMH in 2011 was 157. PMH serves a catchment population of 1 114 589; therefore the number of newly diagnosed cases of glaucoma in the south of the country was 14.1/100 000; 95% CI (12.0 to 16.5). The number of new glaucoma cases at SMH in 2011 was 154. SMH serves a population of 949 312, thus the number of newly diagnosed cases of glaucoma in the north of the country is 16.2/100 000; 95% CI (13.8 to 19.0). There was no statistically significant difference in the number of new cases diagnosed in the south compared to the north (p value=0.2).