Targeted screening may be a cost effective way to detect glaucoma

doi:10.1136/bmj.39412.508993.94

BMJ 2007;335:1114 (1 December), doi:10.1136/bmj.39412.508993.94

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Targeted screening may be a cost effective way to detect glaucoma

Susan Mayor

London

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Targeted screening of particular groups for open angle glaucomawould be more cost effective than testing the general population,a UK modelling study concludes.

The study compared different strategies for screening for openangle glaucoma (the commonest type of glaucoma, which is theleading cause of irreversible blindness) by reviewing the existingresearch evidence for effectiveness and cost effectiveness.

One strategy was for a glaucoma screening technician to measureintraocular pressure and then do a second test from a rangeof possible tests to screen people considered to be at riskof open angle glaucoma. The United Kingdom doesn't currentlyhave glaucoma screening technicians, but the researchers assumedthat staff could be trained and accredited in a similar wayto retinal screening technicians who screen for diabetic retinopathy.

A second potential strategy—which costs more—involvedpatients at high risk being invited to be assessed by a glaucomaoptometrist.

Positive results of . . . [Full text of this article]

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