U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Updates Glaucoma Screening Recommendations

Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
Article Date: 30 Mar 2005 - 0:00 PDT

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In a new Recommendation Statement and accompanying evidence review, the U.S. Preventive Service updates its 1996 recommendations for glaucoma screening, finding insufficient evidence to recommend for or against screening adults for glaucoma.

Despite some evidence that treatment to lower intraocular pressure may delay the progression of visual field deficits in some patients, a long-term health benefit of early recognition and treatment of glaucoma in preventing severe vision loss and disability in asymptomatic patients was not found.

Thus, the new statement represents no change from the Task Force's 1996 recommendation. In its recommendation, the Task Force notes that the potential benefits of screening and treatment must be weighed against the known harms, which include local eye irritation and an increased risk for cataracts.

Primary open-angle glaucoma, the most common type of glaucoma, is a leading cause of blindness and vision-related disability, affecting an estimated 2.5 million people in the United States.

Screening for Glaucoma: Recommendation Statement
U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
Screening for Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma in the Primary Care Setting: an Update for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
By Craig Fleming, M.D., et al

March/April 2005 Annals of Family Medicine tip sheet

Annals of Family Medicine is a peer-reviewed research journal that provides a cross-disciplinary forum for new, evidence-based information affecting the primary care discipline. Launched in May 2003, the journal is sponsored by six family medical organizations, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Board of Family Practice, the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, the Association of Departments of Family Medicine, the Association of Family Practice Residency Directors and the North American Primary Care Research Group. Annals is published six times each year and contains original research from the clinical, biomedical, social and health services areas, as well as contributions on methodology and theory, selected reviews, essays and editorials. A board of directors with representatives from each of the sponsoring organizations oversees Annals. Complete editorial content and interactive discussion groups for each published article can be accessed free of charge on the journal's Web site, http://www.annfammed.org.

Contact: Angela Lower
alower@aafp.org
913-906-6253
American Academy of Family Physicians
http://www.annfammed.org.

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