Strategies for improving the diagnostic specificity of the frequency doubling perimeter

Acta Ophthalmol Scand. 2005 Feb;83(1):53-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0420.2005.00424.x.

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate various strategies designed to improve the specificity of the interpretation of results obtained with the frequency doubling technology perimeter (FDT) used in the full-threshold mode.

Methods: Three different strategies were compared using data from 452 glaucoma patients and 237 healthy subjects: combining several FDT parameters from a single test, combining the FDT test with a GDx test, and confirming an abnormal FDT test result with a repeat test.

Results: Confirming an abnormal FDT test result with a repeat test yielded a specificity increase of 0.10, from 0.80 to 0.90, at the expense of some loss of sensitivity for early but not for moderate or severe glaucoma. Combining several FDT parameters from a single test and combining FDT with GDx did not yield any noticeable increase in diagnostic performance.

Conclusions: A modest increase in FDT diagnostic performance can be obtained by the confirmation of an abnormal test result with a repeat test.

MeSH terms

  • Cohort Studies
  • False Positive Reactions
  • Glaucoma / diagnosis*
  • Humans
  • Intraocular Pressure
  • Nerve Fibers / pathology*
  • Optic Nerve Diseases / diagnosis*
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Probability
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Retinal Ganglion Cells / pathology*
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Visual Field Tests / methods*