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Background: The risk for glaucoma is 4-5 times higher in patients from sub-Saharan Africa. Thus, especially in developing countries an easy and effective method for assessing the intraocular pressure (IOP) is needed., Methodology: In this hospital-based survey 150 eyes were divided into 3 groups concerning the IOP (group I < 16 mmHg, group II 16-23 mmHg and group III > 23 mmHg) and underwent examination with ultrasound pachymetry followed by iCare tonometry (ICT) and Goldmann applanation tonometry (GAT). Agreement of the measurements by two tonometers was assessed with the Bland-Altman method and the influence of the central corneal thickness (CCT) on the ICT measurements was determined., Results: The mean difference between the IOD measured with GAT and ICT was 0.84 ± 2.63 mmHg. The differences were similar in all three groups (0.77-0.97 mmHg), however, the standard deviation in group III (4.04 mmHg) was greater than in groups I (1.98 mmHg) and II (1.79 mmHg). The mean CCT was 513.51 ± 36.22 µm., Conclusions: The agreement of measurements by GAT and ICT was good for lower IOP values but less accurate in patients with higher IOP values (group III). A dependency of the CCT on the ICT measurements was observed. In comparison to other countries the lowest CCTs were found in Malawian patients.

Background: The HIV pandemic in Southeast Africa is a challenge to the poorly staffed and poorly financed health systems of the affected countries. A dramatic increase of HIV-associated ocular malignancies has been observed in Malawi. This study investigated the frequency of malignant ocular tumours at the only eye hospital in the south of Malawi., Methods: A retrospective analysis of all patients who underwent removal of conjunctival growth suspicious for malignancy was performed for the period from 1989 to 2006. In addition a consecutive group of 49 patients with malignant ocular tumours was offered an HIV test., Results: The number of patients undergoing surgery for suspected ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) increased from 32 cases in 1989 to 467 in 2006. Of the patients with malignant ocular tumours, 80% (39 of 49) had OSSN, and 76% of the patients with OSSN were HIV positive., Conclusions: OSSN has become the most frequent malignant ocular tumour in the south of Malawi. The incidence of OSSN seems to have increased dramatically from 1989 to 2006--in parallel to increasing HIV infection rates.