The impact of childhood glaucoma on psychosocial functioning and quality of life: a review of the literature

Quality, Reliability, Technical Quality, and Readability of Google Online Information on Childhood Glaucoma

PURPOSE

To evaluate the quality, reliability, technical quality, and readability of online information related to childhood glaucoma.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, no human subjects were studied. Analysis was done for online websites on childhood glaucoma. The terms "childhood glaucoma," "pediatric glaucoma," "congenital glaucoma," "buphthalmos," and "big eyes" were entered into the Google search engine and the first 100 search results were assessed for quality, reliability, technical quality, and readability. Peer-reviewed articles, patient forum posts, dictionary definitions, and websites that appeared as targeted ads, were not in English, or were not focused on humans were excluded. Each website was evaluated for (1) quality and reliability using the DISCERN, HONcode, and JAMA criteria; (2) technical quality assessing 11 technical aspects; and (3) readability using six separate criteria (Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease Score and Grade Level, Gunning Fog Index score, the Simple Measure of Gobbledygook Index, Coleman-Liau Index, and Automated Readability Index).

RESULTS

The median scores for the DISCERN, HONcode, and JAMA criteria were 2.6 (range = 1 to 4.75; 1 = worst, 5 = best), 10 (range = 0 to 16; 0 = worst, 16 = best), and 2 (range = 0 to 4; 0 = worst, 4 = best), respectively. The median technical quality score was 0.7. Readability was poor among most websites, with a median Flesch-Kincaid grade Grade Level Score of 9.3. The median Gunning Fog Index score was 9.8. There was a statistically significantly higher JAMA score and Gunning Fog Index score among the private websites compared to the institutional websites. However, institutional websites had higher technical quality.

CONCLUSIONS

Online information on childhood glaucoma had poor to moderate quality and reliability. The technical quality is good; however, most websites' readability was above the recommended 5th to 6th grade reading level. [J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. 2024;61(3):198-203.].

Peripapillary Vascular Density in Childhood Glaucoma: A Pilot Comparative Study with Age and Sex Matched Healthy Subjects

PURPOSE

The aim of this study concerns the evaluation of peripapillary vessel indices in childhood glaucoma (CG) and healthy subjects.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

In this prospective, unicenter, observational cross-sectional study, patients with CG and age and sex-matched healthy subjects were included. We compared retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) measurements in optical coherence tomography (OCT), peripapillary vessel density (PVD), and the flux index (FI) of the superficial vascular plexus from OCT angiography (OCT-A) between CG patients and control groups.

RESULTS

We included 39 patients (68 eyes) with CG and 50 (95 eyes) healthy subjects. The peripapillary RNFL thickness, vessel density, and flux index were significantly lower in the CG group than in the control group. The mean PVD of CG patients was 0.52 ± 0.043%, compared with 0.55 ± 0.014%, p < 0.0001 in healthy subjects. The mean FI was 0.32 ± 0.054 versus 0.37 ± 0.028, p < 0.0001, in CG patients and healthy subjects, respectively. PVD and FI in the superior, inferior, and temporal sectors were significantly lower in CG. The peripapillary RNFL thickness showed a higher area under the ROC curve (AUROC) for discriminating healthy and CG eyes and was significantly different than the PVD (0.797, 95%CI 0.726-0.869; p < 0.0001 vs. 0.664, 95%CI 0.574-0.752; p 0.00037), p 0.012.

CONCLUSIONS

PVD and FI show lower values in CG and correlate with RNFL thickness measurement but have lower diagnostic ability than RNFL thickness measurement. Our results reveal possible differences in the pathogenesis of microvascular compromise in childhood glaucoma patients.