Order Number |
375493092 |
Type of Project |
ESSAY |
Writer Level |
PHD VERIFIED |
Format |
APA |
Academic Sources |
10 |
Page Count |
3-12 PAGES |
Glaucoma Case study
Miss Watson is a 47-year-old Afro-Caribbean patient who has been diagnosed with chronic open angle glaucoma by the ophthalmologist. She has been attending clinic for the past two years. Her visual acuity assessment shows that her left vision has progressively diminished to counting fingers only.
Two years ago, her left vision was 6/9 with glasses. This was her best corrective visual acuity with glasses. The normal range of vision is between 6/4 and 6/6 when a Snellen’s chart is used. Her right eye has been totally blind due to end-stage glaucoma for the past two years. Following her initial diagnosis two years ago, the ophthalmologist advised a left trabeculectomy. She refused to have surgery. She was initially treated with levobunolol 0.5% and pilocarpine 4% to both eyes, and was on acetazolamide 250mg 4 times a day.
On assessment she appears polite, pleasant but rather withdrawn. She answers only to direct questioning. She has missed two clinic appointments over the past six months and does not wish to explain why. Her intraocular pressures in both eyes are 26mmHg. The range of intraocular pressure varies from one individual to another, and can be between 12mmHg and 21mmHg. Any pressure above that range would cause a healthcare practitioner to suspect glaucoma and the individual would need to be referred to an eye clinic for screening. She has no known medical history. She worked as a hospital cleaner but was made redundant a year ago.
She had been prescribed timolol 0.5% for both eyes. One week later, she went to her GP complaining of shortness of breath and wheeziness.
When questioned, she said she could not recall the frequency of her drops, any details of her medications or any details of her eye condition.
She tells you that her right eye is blind and that she expects to go blind in her left eye, no matter what the doctor does. Her 80-year-old father is registered blind.