The optometrist's role in the management of hypertensive crises.

Background: In hypertensive crises, ocular findings are pivotal to making correct management decisions. Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC-7) guidelines define hypertensive crises as blood pressure greater than 180/120 mmHg associated with signs or symptoms of target organ damage. Urgent cases are those without optic disc edema but that necessitate control within 24 to 72 hours.

Measuring accurate IOPs: Does correction factor help or hurt?

Purpose: To evaluate if using the Ehlers correction factor on the intraocular pressure (IOP) measured using the Goldmann applanation tonometer (GAT) improves its agreement with the PASCAL dynamic contour tonometer (DCT).

Patients And Methods: A total of 120 eyes of 120 individuals were examined. Participants underwent IOP measurement with both the DCT and the GAT and central corneal thickness measurement.

Through our children's eyes--the public health impact of the vision screening requirements for Indiana school children.

Background: The vision screening of preschool and school children is a widely accepted procedure to detect vision problems that can interfere with learning. The Indiana General Assembly requires the annual vision screening with the Modified Clinical Technique (MCT) of all children upon their enrollment in either kindergarten or the first grade, with the exception of schools that apply for and receive waivers to conduct only a distance Snellen chart screening.

Methods: In association with the Indiana State Department of Health, the Indiana University School of Optometry conducted an analysis of statewide school screening data on 36,967 grade 1 children from 139 of the 294 Indiana school corporations that submitted data for the 2000-2001 school year to examine differences in referral rate by screening method, the socioeconomic status of children screened, and academic performance.