An optometry professor has won funding to discover how often glaucoma patients should return for an eye examination.
Professor David Crabb of City University London has been awarded a £300,000 research grant to investigate the frequency of monitoring of patients with glaucoma. He was one of only four funded from some 70 applications to the National Institute for Health Research Health Services Research programme.
Professor Crabb's goal is to provide data for guidelines that can be applied to patients newly diagnosed with glaucoma. The project started this month and is due to be completed by the end of 2013.
He said: 'It is estimated that in the UK 500,000 people have glaucoma, as the population ages this figure is expected to rise. If left untreated, glaucoma can lead to eventual blindness. However, at present, there are no clear guidelines on how often patients who have been diagnosed with glaucoma should be tested to make sure their condition doesn't worsen under treatment.
'There are a number of variables at play. Because different patients experience different rates of visual deterioration, presently we don't know what level of monitoring provides the best outcomes for patients or is the most cost effective for the NHS.
'There may be some patients who experience very little deterioration, while others may need to be having treatments and check-ups more often.'
He estimated that there were over a million NHS outpatient appointments for glaucoma a year. 'More data around the optimum frequency of visual testing will not only help improve patient outcomes, but also help the NHS more effectively anticipate services required to support glaucoma patients in the future,' he added.
