ABSTRACT
Glaucoma is the world's leading cause of irreversible blindness. Despite this, up to 90% of patients in the developing world are under diagnosed.
Glaucoma-related blindness in the Caribbean is an eye opener. The earlier age, advanced optic neuropathy, rapid progression coupled with education and cultural barriers all make for a unique challenge.
This review aims to highlight an evidenced-based approach to early diagnosis and the importance of the role of the general practitioner in achieving the paradigm shift towards improved glaucoma care in the Caribbean. The clinician's roles are as follows: firstly, identification of risk factors will aid early referral and diagnosis; secondly, reinforcing the importance of compliance and recognition of side-effects will identify treatment failures; and thirdly, an appreciation of the success of surgical intervention will help support patient’s decision.
Manuscripts that are Published Ahead of Print have been peer reviewed and accepted for publication by the Editorial Board of the West Indian Medical Journal. They may appear in their original format and may not be copy edited or formatted in the style guide of this Journal. While accepted manuscripts are not yet assigned a volume, issue or page numbers, they can be cited using the DOI and date of e-publication. See our Instructions for Authors on how to properly cite manuscripts at this stage. The contents of the manuscript may change before it is published in its final form. Manuscripts in this section will be removed once they have been issued to a volume and issue, but will still retain the DOI and date of e-publication.
Our 7 faculties and 12 professional schools offer more than 200 programmes to some 18,000 graduate, undergraduate and continuing studies students.
The UWI, Mona ranks first in Jamaica among accredited tertiary-level programmes. In 2012, the University was again one of Jamaica’s Top 100 Employers.
