Bill Harvey: Can’t get this pressure point out of my head

I have just spent some time at the birthplace of graphene, the University of Manchester, discussing tonometry and fields with some of the latest pre-reg intake.

Q: Which of your patients have their fields assessed? Typical answer: Everyone over 40 unless they have a family history of glaucoma. Discussion: I heard this so many times, I suspect this is being taught somewhere. But it makes no sense to me. Age and family history are both glaucoma risk factors, the former the most significant. Surely this is a tautology and also forgets the usefulness of baseline data and the need for selection of strategies for those at risk. I would suggest a supra-threshold screening of all patients, at least at first visit, and then a full threshold assessment for any with risk factors linked with potential field loss.