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. 2021 Oct 28;16(10):e0259143.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259143. eCollection 2021.

Agreement of rebound and applanation tonometry intraocular pressure measurements during atmospheric pressure change

Alice Verticchio Vercellin  1 , Alon Harris  1 , Brent Siesky  1 , Ryan Zukerman  1   2 , Lucia Tanga  3 , Carmela Carnevale  3 , Fabio Scarinci  3 , Francesco Oddone  3
Affiliations

Agreement of rebound and applanation tonometry intraocular pressure measurements during atmospheric pressure change

Alice Verticchio Vercellin et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

This study investigated the agreement of intraocular pressure measurements using rebound tonometry and applanation tonometry in response to atmospheric changes in a hyperbaric chamber. Twelve eyes of 12 healthy subjects were included in this prospective, comparative, single-masked study. Intraocular pressure measurements were performed by rebound tonometry followed by applanation tonometry in a multiplace hyperbaric chamber at 1 Bar, followed by 2, 3 and 4 Bar during compression and again at 3 and 2 Bar during decompression. Mean differences between rebound and applanation intraocular pressure measurements were 1.6, 1.7, and 2.1 mmHg at 2, 3, and 4 Bar respectively during compression and 2.6 and 2.2 mmHg at 3 and 2 Bar during decompression. Lower limits of agreement ranged from -3.7 to -5.9 mmHg and upper limits ranged from -0.3 to 1.9 mmHg. Multivariate analysis showed that the differences between rebound and applanation intraocular pressure measurements were independent of atmospheric pressure changes (p = 0.79). Intraocular pressure measured by rebound tonometry shows a systematic difference compared to intraocular measured by applanation tonometry, but this difference is not influenced by changes of atmospheric pressure up to 4 Bar in a hyperbaric chamber. Agreement in magnitude of change between devices suggests rebound tonometry is viable for assessing intraocular pressure during atmospheric changes. Future studies should be designed in consideration of expected differences in IOP values provided by the two devices.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Alon Harris would like to disclose that he received remuneration from AdOM, Qlaris, Luseed, and Cipla for serving as a consultant, and he serves on the board of Adom, Qlaris, and Phileas Pharma. Alon Harris holds an ownership interest in AdOM, Luseed, Oxymap, Qlaris, Phileas Pharma, and QuLent. All relationships listed above are pursuant to Icahn School of Medicine’s policy on outside activities. None of the other authors listed have any financial disclosures. There are no patents, products in development or marketed products to declare. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Intraocular pressure measured using applanation tonometry and rebound tonometry at each atmospheric pressure level (ATM) during the experiment in the hyperbaric chamber.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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