Abstract
Purpose :
To investigate visit outcomes for patients seen in a glaucoma referral refinement clinic over a three year period.
Methods :
Patients referred to a NHS Trust from community optometrists, with elevated IOP using non-contact tonometry, are seen initially by an optometrist in a hospital-based referral refinement clinic. Patients undergo visual field testing, Goldmann Applanation Tonometry, van Herick grading, optic disc assessment and are then either discharged back to their community optometrist or referred on to a consultant ophthalmologist. Data on patient outcomes and the reasons for any onward referral were analyzed for patients seen over a 5 month period (October to February) from 2013 to 2016.
Results :
The number of patients seen in 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16 were 30, 47 and 18 respectively. The percentages of patients discharged over the three years were 37%, 47% and 50% respectively. There was no significant change in the proportion of patients discharged over this time period (χ2=1.06, p=0.59). The reasons for onward referral to a consultant ophthalmologist were: elevated IOP (n=34), visual field defect (n=14), suspicious disc appearance (n=9) and narrow angle (n=7); in 11 cases more than one reason for onward referral was stated.
Conclusions :
The number of patients seen in 2015-16 was less than in previous years, however the proportion of patients discharged from this referral refinement clinic has not changed significantly over the last three years. The reduction in the number of patients referred to this clinic may in part be due to an increase in community-based glaucoma referral refinement clinics and/or an increase in the practice of Applanation Tonometry by community optometrists; leading to a reduction in false positive referrals.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2017 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Baltimore, MD, May 7-11, 2017.