Global blindness exacts an enormous financial and social cost on developing countries. Reducing the prevalence of blindness globally requires a set of strategies that are different from those typically used in developed countries. This was the subject of the 2013 Knapp symposium at the American Ophthalmological Society Annual Meeting, and this article summarizes the presentations of epidemiologists, health care planners, and ophthalmologists.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Glaucoma is an optic neuropathy with characteristic progressive optic nerve degeneration. Early detection and treatment may prevent blindness; however, the value of glaucoma screening has been debated.
Methods: Articles pertaining to glaucoma screening were reviewed.
Purpose: To determine the prevalence of follow-up and factors associated with completing an eye examination after a glaucoma public service announcement.
Design: Cross-sectional observational study.
Participants: Individuals who participated in the Glaucoma EyeCare Program by calling a toll-free telephone number and receiving referral by meeting inclusion criteria.
Relationships between physicians and industry including pharmaceutical companies and device manufacturers are being closely scrutinized by the public and the media. These companies can contribute beneficially to patient outcomes by supporting research that improves eye care. However, ethical issues may arise that affect practicing ophthalmologists, researchers, academic faculty, and ophthalmologic organizations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Primary open-angle glaucoma is a significant health-economic burden in both the United States and Europe that is likely to increase. This study compared treatment patterns and cost among patients with primary open-angle glaucoma in these locations.
Methods: Retrospective medical chart reviews were conducted in the United States (1990 to 2002) and Europe (1995 to 2003).
Objective: To examine resource consumption and the direct costs of treating glaucoma at different disease severity levels.
Design: Observational, retrospective cohort study based on medical record review.
Participants: One hundred fifty-one records of patients with primary open-angle or normal-tension glaucoma, glaucoma suspect, or ocular hypertension (age > or =18 years) were randomly selected from 12 sites in the United States and stratified according to severity based on International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes.
Purpose: To provide a reliable, comprehensive staging system to assess glaucoma stage in the absence of an universally accepted glaucoma staging system (GSS) on the basis of visual field results.
Design: Literature review and GSS adaptation.
Methods: After a review of published GSSs was conducted, the Bascom Palmer (Hodapp-Anderson-Parrish) GSS was selected as an appropriate platform for a retrospective GSS on the basis of visual fields.
Purpose: To evaluate the impact of converting from Humphrey 24-2 full-threshold (FT) visual field (VF) testing to SITA-Standard (SS) VF testing during the follow-up phase of a clinical trial.
Methods: VF data were obtained from 243 patients in the Collaborative Initial Glaucoma Treatment Study (CIGTS) who had follow-up visits in 2004. FT and SS VF tests were performed in random order on the same day.
Purpose: Intraocular pressure is a risk factor for the development of glaucomatous optic neuropathy. With few exceptions, higher mean intraocular pressure and greater prevalences of glaucoma have been reported for individuals of African origin. This study was performed to compare the mean intraocular pressure of a group of ethnic East Africans living in the United States with that of Caucasians living in the same community.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To compare the baseline Collaborative Initial Glaucoma Treatment Study (CIGTS) visual field (VF) score and mean deviation (MD), investigate test-retest variability, and identify variables associated with VF loss and VF measurement variability.
Methods: Baseline data from a randomized clinical trial of 607 patients with newly diagnosed open-angle glaucoma were collected at 14 clinical centers. The CIGTS VF score and MD were obtained from 24-2 VF tests (Zeiss-Humphrey Systems, Dublin, CA) at two visits approximately 2 weeks apart.
J Ocul Pharmacol Ther
October 2002
The purpose of this study was to gain insights into why patients are not compliant with their glaucoma medications. Patients were recruited from lists provided by two ophthalmologists. Each patient had seen a minimum of two ophthalmologists for their glaucoma, and was taking at least two topical medications for glaucoma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objective: To map retinal sensitivity values within glaucomatous visual field defects (VFD) to corresponding values of scanning laser polarimetry (SLP) of the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer using the Wirtschafter disc sector classification.
Methods: Eyes with glaucomatous VFD (N = 28) underwent SLP and Humphrey automated perimetry. The Wirtschafter disc sector classification was used to obtain SLP values corresponding to VFD.
Purpose: To compare optic nerve head (ONH) surface change detection by confocal scanning laser tomography (CSLT) within the LSU Experimental Glaucoma (LEG) study to expert clinicians viewing the LEG stereophotographs.
Design: Experimental study.
Participants: Four fellowship-trained glaucoma specialists.