How Does Goldmann Applanation Tonometry For Measurement Of Intraocular Pressure Compare When The Procedure Is Performed With Fluress Versus Proparacaine?

BACKGROUND: Many practitioners have currently been using proparacaine instead of
Fluress when performing Goldmann applanation tonometry, due to the staining of contact
lenses when Fluress is used. The purpose of this study was to calculate the difference in
intraocular pressure measurements when taken with Fluress versus proparacaine, and to
investigate whether that difference is statistically significant. METHODS: A total of 42 eyes had Goldmann applanation tonometry performed twice, once with Fluress and once with proparacaine. The individual pressure values and the difference between measurements with Fluress and measurements with proparacaine were then plotted on three separate graphs. The deviations between measurement results were analyzed to determine whether the difference was statistically significant. RESULTS: Goldmann applanation tonometry performed with proparacaine under-estimated the intraocular pressure by a statistically significant amount of 1.62 mmHg (p = 0.012; t-test = 2.68), with a range from -6 mmHg to +1 mmHg when comparing it to Fluress measurements.
CONCLUSIONS: Our study found a significant difference in intraocular pressure
measurements taken with proparacaine compared to Fluress. Even though using
proparacaine for lOP measurement may be convenient for contact lens wearers and more
cost effective, this study supports the use of Fluress instead of proparacaine when obtaining the most accurate measurement of intraocular pressure.