[Compliance of treatment in glaucoma patients].

Purpose: To evaluate the treatment compliance level of glaucoma patients and the correlation between the compliance level and a series of patient's demographic characteristics.

Methods: We conducted an observational study in which we studied 100 glaucoma patients who answered the questions we included into a questionnaire. We defined and calculated a broad compliance score and a narrow score, and we investigated the connection between the first score and age, gender, demographic location (urban versus rural), education level, current occupation and duration of disease respectively.

Results: The mean of the broad compliance score was 9.64 +/- 1.72, which represents 80% of the maximum value of the score, and the mean of the narrow compliance score was 4.73 +/- 1.12, (78% of the maximum value). The correlation coefficient between score and age was z = -0.09 (p value = 0.19), the Z value for the evaluation of the connection between score and gender was -1.16 (p value = 0.24), and for the connection between compliance score and demographic location Z value = -2.42 (p value = 0.01). Chi-square value for the evaluation of the relation between the score and education level was 14.66 (p value = 0.001), and for the current occupation Chi-square value = 3.47 (p value = 0.06). The correlation coefficient between score and disease duration was tau = 0.09 (p value = 0.23).

Discussions: According to the answers the patients gave, we identified the parameters that require more attention in the ophthalmologist - glaucoma patient communication: genetic transmission of glaucoma, treatment's side effects, number of visits to the ophthalmologist, awareness of the life-long gradului period of treatment.

Conclusions: In this study, the compliance level of glaucoma patients is relatively high and we observe a correlation between the compliance level and demographic location, and between the compliance level and patient's education level respectively.,