Contemporary glaucoma therapy: spoilt for choice
1 April 2014
| Rod McNeil
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EYE - Glaucoma
The goal of glaucoma management is to prevent visual loss and disease progression in the patient’s lifetime through effective lowering of intraocular pressure (IOP), the primary modifiable risk factor in glaucoma. Sustained and consistent IOP reduction is key to halting...
The Eye Health Network – an ‘optometry-first’ approach to eye care
1 April 2014
| Stephen McPherson, John Olson
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EYE - Cornea
Historically, in NHS Grampian, ophthalmology and optometry worked separately, with even the process of optometry referral to hospital occurring only at the behest of the patient’s general practitioner (GP). Criteria for referral were not discussed and feedback after referral was...
Burning vision: vision loss from misuse of ‘toy’ laser pens in children
1 April 2014
| Imran Haq, Naz Raoof, Fahd Quhill
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EYE - Cornea
A case series of five children with macular burns due to the misuse of novelty laser products, purchased online or abroad, was undertaken at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital and The Children’s Hospital, Sheffield [1]. All patients were from the Sheffield...
Guide to Gaining Approval for a Clinical Study
1 April 2014
| Vanessa Cobb, Pier D Lambiase
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EYE - General
This article focuses on gaining approval for clinical research involving NHS patients, although the principles can be applied to other types of research. The intention is to give an overview of the requirements for setting up a research study, but...
Ophthalmology in the developing world
1 April 2014
| Caterina Sarah Dal Col
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EYE - General
After the second year of medical school, I spent my summer vacation working as a volunteer for a small Italian non-government organisation (NGO), named HEALTH-AID. As part of my volunteering experience, I joined a team of European doctors, medical students...
Inherited retinal disorders now the leading cause of blindness
1 April 2014
| Thomas O'Neill
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EYE - Vitreo-Retinal
The recent paper in BMJ Open, from the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, ‘A comparison of the causes of blindness certifications in England and Wales in working age adults (16-64 years), 1999-2000 with 2009-2010’ concludes that inherited retinal disorders (IRD) such...
The importance of ‘hands-on’ learning
1 April 2014
| Gill Wood
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EYE - General
Providing ongoing professional education and development for the allied professions out of the clinic or hospital setting is often quite challenging. The reorganisation of rotas, heavy clinic lists and financial constraints all add up to making the opportunity to learn...
Eye Capacity: clinical need should drive ophthalmic service provision
1 February 2014
| Rod McNeil
Almost two million people in the UK suffer sight loss, a number forecast to double over coming decades. Major causes of blindness are age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, cataract and uncorrected refractive error. Prevalence of these sight-threatening conditions...
Addressing medical risk factors for diabetes and understanding the new systemic treatments
1 February 2014
| Samantha S Mann
As global diabetes figures continue to rise, the importance of reducing the burden of macrovascular and microvascular complications of diabetes has never been so great. By 2025 it is estimated that five million people in the UK will have diabetes...
An introduction to research governance
1 February 2014
| Nana Theodorou
Research is the process of acquiring new generalisable knowledge and should be fully integrated into health care work. There is a growing drive to encourage and further develop evidence-based practice in ophthalmology so that staff and patients benefit from improved...
A day in the life of...an ophthalmic imager / an orthoptic assistant
1 February 2014
| Richard Hancock, Anne Fifield
The ophthalmic imager My role as an ophthalmic / medical photographer has evolved, dramatically, since I began my career at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, 30 years ago. Long gone are the days of developing and hand printing fluorescein angiograms in...
Myasthenia Gravis Masquerading as a Third Cranial Nerve Palsy
1 February 2014
| Maria Loredana Popescu, Annabel Doyle
A 65-year-old man presented with a week’s history of binocular diplopia (in all directions of gaze) and a right partial ptosis. He was systemically well. His past medical history was unremarkable except for vitiligo. At presentation acuity was 6/6 bilaterally....
