Clinical agreement among glaucoma experts in the detection of glaucomatous changes of the optic disk using simultaneous stereoscopic photographs

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical agreement in the detection of optic disk changes in patients with glaucoma using simultaneous stereophotographs.

Design: Masked-observer variability study.

Methods: Ten glaucoma specialists examined pairs of simultaneous stereophotographs of glaucomatous and control optic disks to determine whether there were changes compatible with progression of glaucomatous damage.

Results: Intraobserver agreement had a kappa value ranging from 0.55 to 0.78. Interobserver agreement among the glaucoma specialists had a kappa value ranging from 0.34 to 0.68.

Conclusions: Clinical examination of stereophotographs to detect optic disk changes in glaucoma patients has limitations associated with suboptimal reproducibility.