Sensitivity and specificity of nassar color test in early detection of diabetic macular edema

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of Nassar color discrimination test in the presence of diabetic macular edema (DME) as a sensitive diagnostic tool for the detection of early functional changes. Design: A prospective, comparative case–control study. Setting: Multicenter study in the outpatient clinic of Beni Suef University, Fayoum University, and Misr University for Science and Technology. Methods: The study included 120 eyes with Type I diabetes recruited from the outpatient clinic. All patients were received ophthalmic exams and tested with Nassar color plate test, fluorescein fundus angiography (FFA), and optical coherence tomography (OCT). The main outcome measures are the presence of mild or moderate tritans indicating early DME changes that were documented in each group. Statistical Analysis Used: Student's t-test and ANOVA f-test were used for statistical analysis. P Results: The mean age of the patients was 41.15 ± 5.61 years (range 23–49 years) with the mean disease duration of 13.56 ± 2.59 years (range 10–20 years). All patient with dry macula (n = 60, 50%) were normal on Nassar color test while patients with DME showed normal (n = 6, 5%), mild tritan (n = 14, 11.66%), and moderate tritan (n = 40, 33.33%), respectively. Hence, the Nassar color test is 90% sensitive and 100% specific. Conclusions: The Nassar color plate is an affordable and effective for early detection of DME and recommended to be used in all primary ophthalmic examination especially in areas where no access to comprehensive ophthalmic exams such as OCT and FFA.