Pupillometry as a Screening Tool to Detect Pseudoexfoliation Syndrome.

PURPOSE: Our objective was to evaluate the diagnostic value of a handheld pupillometer in differentiating eyes with pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PXS) from healthy controls.

METHODS: This population-based, cross-sectional study was conducted in the province of Eskisehir, Turkey. Subjects 40 years of age and older were randomly recruited using stratified two-stage cluster sampling from the database of the Turkish Statistical Institute office in Eskisehir. Recruitment took place between June and October 2014. The inclusion criteria were healthy subjects who did not have a previous diagnosis of glaucoma or other issues affecting pupil dynamics. After an extensive ophthalmic examination, pupillometry was performed under standard photopic room lighting conditions. After pupillometry, the pupil was dilated and digital images of the anterior segment were taken for confirmation of PXS. An inter-eye pupil diameter difference of ≥0.4 mm was defined as pupil asymmetry.

RESULTS: Of the 2356 invited subjects, 2017 agreed to participate (85.6%), and 1559 subjects were eligible for the study. An age-matched subgroup consisting of 529 healthy controls was randomly selected to compare with the 60 subjects who were diagnosed with PXS. The mean pupil diameters of subjects with PXS and healthy controls were 3.57 ± 0.68 mm and 3.68 ± 0.63 mm, respectively (P = .652). In the ROC analysis, the precision of pupil diameter in discriminating PXS was low (AUC 0.56, sensitivity 14%, specificity 94%). Pupil asymmetry increased the chances of having PXS by 3.46-fold.

CONCLUSIONS: Pupillometry performed poorly in the detection of PXS scoring a positive predictive value of 26%.