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. 1997 Oct;81(10):896–900. doi: 10.1136/bjo.81.10.896

Cataract progression in India

M Srinivasan 1, R Rahmathullah 1, C Blair 1, A Murphy 1, R Beck 1, J Wilkins 1, J Whitcher 1, G Smolin 1
PMCID: PMC1722012  PMID: 9486033

Abstract

AIMS—The study was undertaken to test the feasibility of using the LOCS III cataract grading scale in the field and to determine the rate of cataract progression over a 1 year period of time.
METHODS—For 150 subjects between the ages of 33 and 55 who attended the refraction clinic at Aravind Eye Hospital in Madurai, India, lens abnormalities were graded at the slit lamp using the LOCS III scale. One year later, 99 of the subjects were re-evaluated by the same methodology to assess the amount of lens change.
RESULTS—Interrater reliability was high. A change of 0.5 or more in lens colour, cortical, nuclear, or posterior subcapsular cataract was observed in at least one eye of 54% of the subjects.
CONCLUSION—The LOCS III grading scale is a feasible method for measuring lens changes in the field with the slit lamp. Cataract progression in India is rapid enough to permit intervention studies to be performed with relatively small numbers of subjects over a short period of time (that is, 600 subjects for 2 years).



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Figure 1  .

Figure 1  

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The arrangement at Aravind Hospital, Madurai, India, for examining and grading the subjects at the slit lamp.

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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