Reflections on sight loss - RNIB

Health watchdog issues glaucoma guidance
The National Institute for Health and Clinical
Excellence (NICE) and the National Clinical
Guideline Centre have issued guidelines to
improve the diagnosis and management of
chronic open angle glaucoma (COAG) and
ocular hypertension (OHT).
Affecting an estimated 480,000 people in
England, COAG is a common condition that
can lead to blindness if is not diagnosed early
and treated promptly. Around 10 per cent of
UK blindness registrations are due to
In the know
glaucoma. There are usually no symptoms
until the later stages, though OHT (raised
pressure in the eye) is a major risk factor for
developing COAG. NICE recommendations
include a suite of tests for people suspected
of having COAG or who have OHT,
monitoring of people who are most at risk,
and treatment regimes to reduce high eye
pressure.
Links
➜ www.nice.org.uk/guidance/CG85
Advice for optometrists about
people with learning disabilities
There are well over a million people with
some level of learning disability in the UK.
People with learning disabilities are more
likely to have eye problems, yet
traditionally have problems accessing eye
care. A new Continuing Education pack
produced by Healthcall Optical Services in
collaboration with SeeAbility and Replay
Learning is aiming to make it easier for
optometrists to offer the eye care that this
group needs.
The charity SeeAbility is working to
transform eye care and vision for people
with learning disabilities through its eye 2
eye Campaign, which provides information
and advice. It also supports Look Up
(www.lookupinfo.org), an education
resource on eye care and vision for people
with learning disabilities.
The Continuing Education pack was sent
to every registered optometrist in the UK
during Learning Disability Week in June.
For further information visit
www.seeability.org.uk
AMD annual evidence update
The annual evidence update on age-related
macular degeneration (AMD), published in
June, presents a collection of evidence that
has emerged in the past 12 months.
The update covers both wet and dry forms of
AMD. Topics include epidemiology, genetics,
living with AMD, low vision aids, retinal
imaging for diagnosis, surgical and therapeutic
interventions, charitable organisations and
patient support groups.
Links
➜ www.library.nhs.uk/Eyes (follow the links
under ‘Annual evidence updates’).
Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease
The Health Protection Agency has issued
advice that patients about to undergo surgery
on the retina, choroid, posterior hyaloid or
optic nerve should be asked a number of
questions to ascertain whether they are at
increased risk of Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease
(CJD) or variant CJD (vCJD), in order to
minimise the risk of surgical transmission.
The advice can be found at www.dh.gov.uk/
ab/ACDP/TSEguidance/index.htm then follow
the link to Annex J (Assessment to be carried
out before surgery or endoscopy).
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