May 26, 2004
The bottom line on when to use SWAP
Eyeworld May 2004
Use of short-wavelength automated perimetry (SWAP) in glaucoma patients is currently recommended in secondary and tertiary care settings.It’s best for evaluating patients that are ocular hypertensives, that are glaucoma suspects, and that have early to moderate glaucoma. “It can definitely assist practitioners in deciding which patients are at highest risk for converting to glaucoma or which glaucoma patients are most likely to progress Additionally it is more sensitive than standard automated perimetry in several other diseases besides glaucoma, such as diabetes, optic neuritis, HIV-related vision loss, and migraines but patients with cataracts can have an abnormal SWAP test, because cataracts can affect patients’ ability to separate yellow and blue.“The yellowing in the lens will reduce the sensitivity to the target. Another disadvantage of SWAP is that it has more variable responses, both between individuals and within an individual. Swedish Interactive Testing Algorithm (SITA) SWAP,(SITA-SWAP) which is expected to be available sometime this year, has a much better normative database. In addition, it should have some reduced inter-individual variability because regular SITA does that for standard fields,”“The bottom line is to wait for SITA-SWAP, but once that’s available, if it works the way we think it does, this should be an excellent test for practice,” she said.
Posted by mehdi khanlari at May 26, 2004 12:18 PM