This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
AAO, AGS challenge federal report on glaucoma screening, treatment
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
WASHINGTON — A federal assessment that concluded there is no link between glaucoma treatment and visual impairment and no evidence to support glaucoma screenings has prompted the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Glaucoma Society to ask for further evaluation, according to a press release.
The study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) will be shared with the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, whose recommendations often affect decisions regarding Medicare and private coverage, the release said.
"We did not find direct or indirect links between glaucoma screening and visual field loss, visual impairment, optic nerve damage, intraocular pressure and patient-reported outcomes," the AHRQ report said. "There have been improvements in screening devices for assessing functional optic nerve deficits. ... Yet even with these improvements, there is limited evidence that screening for [open-angle glaucoma] can reduce intermediate or final health outcomes including visual impairment and optic nerve function."
The AAO and AGS have contacted the AHRQ with concerns over apparent errors in the manner in which the review was conducted and the resulting conclusions, according to the release.
"The AHRQ reviews and recommendations for screening and treatment of glaucoma fail to properly weigh the overall effectiveness of proven methods of patient care, and therefore could have significant negative societal impact on the medical community's ability to control the disease," glaucoma specialist Joseph Caprioli, MD, professor of ophthalmology at UCLA and chairman of the AAO's Practice Improvement Committee, said in the release.