Tool effective for rapid cataract screening

Catatrac may be a low-cost and effective tool for the rapid screening of visually significant cataracts in the developing world, claims a paper in the journal Eye.

A team led by Dr M.Q. Rahman, Tennent Institute of Ophthalmology, Gartnavel General Hospital, Glasgow, UK, divided 122 eyes of 73 patients into two groups- mild cataracts with logMAR acuities of less than 0.48 and advanced cataracts with logMAR acuities greater than or equal to 0.48.

All patients were assessed without pharmacological dilation in a dimly lit room. A slit lamp was used to examine each patient and the LOCS III classification system was used to grade cataracts.

Of the patients studied, 39 had mild cataracts, 43 eyes had advanced cataracts and there were 40 control eyes with no cataracts. The Catatrac device had a specificity of 95%, a sensitivity of 71 to 84.6% and κ values between 0.67 and 0.80 for agreement with slit lamp assessment.

Overall, the Catatrac device has a slightly lower sensitivity for mild cataracts the authors state it may be an efficient and cheap tool for screening visually significant cataracts in the developing world.

To read the abstract visit the website.