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M Kroese

Publications and source records attributed to M Kroese.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Primary open angle glaucoma. The need for a consensus case definition.

Primary open angle glaucoma is an important cause of visual impairment and blindness in the United Kingdom. This paper gives a brief overview of the condition and its management. It presents evidence of the continued absence of a consensus case definition for this condition. This has resulted in considerable uncertainty about what is diagnosed and treated as primary open angle glaucoma. The important negative effects of this situation are outlined. These include the impact on the person wrongly diagnosed with the condition, the uncertainties both for commissioning and provision of clinical healthcare services, and the lack of a firm basis for research into the condition. It is argued that there is an urgent need to resolve this problem to improve the health of the population.

Adult↗

Prevalence of primary open angle glaucoma in general ophthalmic practice in the United Kingdom.

AIM: To estimate the predicted prevalence of primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) from the activity of a local ophthalmology department. METHOD: Using clinic audit data, the local incidence and prevalence of POAG in the registered population of two primary care trusts were calculated. RESULTS: The local derived prevalence estimate for POAG was 978 per 100 000 people aged 40-89 years (95% CI 753 to 1272) compared with the expected prevalence from a published model of 1230 people per 100 000 people aged 40-89 years. CONCLUSION: The derived prevalence was not statistically significantly different from that predicted. Based on the published evidence that about half of the POAG cases are undetected, it would have been expected that local audit figures would have yielded figures about 50% lower than the epidemiological model. The main reason for this higher prevalence is thought to be differences in the diagnostic criteria used. This lack of consensus on the case definition for POAG is a deficit, which will hamper future needs assessment.

Adult↗