Aim. To investigate the incidence of acute angle-closure glaucoma among residents of Dalmatia, southern part of
Croatia.
Methods. We reviewed hospital records of 176 patients with acute angle-closure glaucoma treated between January
1995 and December 2001 at the Departments of Ophthalmology at four hospitals in Dalmatia. There were 122
women, aged between 29 and 89 years (median age; 68 years), and 54 men, aged between 33 and 88 years (median
age, 70 years).
Results. The unadjusted crude incidence was 2.9/100,000 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.6-4.5). The unadjusted
crude incidence among men and women was 1.9 (95% CI, 0.3-3.8) and 3.9 (95% CI, 1.7-6.1) cases/100,000 per year,
respectively. The relative risk (RR) of developing acute angle-closure glaucoma was 2.1 (95% CI, 1.5-2.9) times higher
for women as compared to men. The RR of acute angle-closure glaucoma was 1.9 (95% CI, 0.6-6.2) in the 40-49 years
group, 6.5 (95% CI, 2.3-18.8) in the 50-59 years group, 17 (95% CI, 6.3-47.8) in the 60-69 years group, and 28 (95%
CI, 10.4-77.3) in the over 69 years group. The median time from the onset of symptoms to presentation at the hospital
was 2 days (range, 1-15 days). In 87 (48%) patients intraocular pressure control was achieved by medical treatment, 41
(23%) patients underwent peripheral iridectomy, and 48 (27%) patients required a trabeculectomy. In 35 (73%) out of
48 patients managed by filtering surgery, the delay in treatment was 3 or more days. In 34 (19%) eyes with final visual
acuity 0.1 or worse, the delay in presentation was 3 days or more. No statistically significant association was found between
acute angle-closure glaucoma and seasonal variation (chi-square=0.85; p=0.8).
Conclusion. Earlier recognition of the patients with acute angle-closure glaucoma and a shorter time of delay in presentation
could have saved many patients from surgery and vision loss each decade.