EPIDEMIOLOGICAL PROFILE: ANALYSIS OF GLAUCOMA ADMISSIONS IN THE STATE OF RIO DE JANEIRO DURING 2010 TO 2019

Abstract

Glaucoma is an optical neuropathy and is the second most blinding disease in the world, initially it can be asymptomatic. There is a classification of it for better understanding, study and treatment between open and closed angle. The open-angle is chronic and insidious, so the diagnosis remains a challenge. The closed-angle can present acutely and initially have signs and symptoms and tends to be more destructive than the open-angle, so the acute form is considered an ophthalmologic emergency. Because of this, this work aims to portray the importance of early diagnosis in order to avoid complications for the individual. A literature review associated with an observational, descriptive, and cross-sectional collection of data available at the Ministry of Health's DATASUS - SUS hospital information system (SIH/SIS) was carried out, and from January 2010 to December 2019 the number of hospitalizations, gender, and age group were evaluated. Glaucoma, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, has a low incidence and among the years analyzed, 2018 and 2019 stood out with 56.15% of hospitalizations for the disease only in these two years and no deaths. In relation to the age group, it is observed a greater involvement between 40 and 80 years, which affects both sexes in numbers close to each other. Despite the vast knowledge about the disease, there is still a great difficulty for early diagnosis, mainly due to the low initial symptomatology.