How to write a nursing essay on elevated Intraocular Pressure (Solved)

Glaucoma is a group of conditions that affect and damage the eye leading to vision loss and blindness. Treatment of this condition is important because it helps prevent increased intraocular pressure (IOP) that is observed to damage the optic nerve. It is theorized that high IOP compresses the microcirculation in the eye resulting in cell injury and death (Schuster et al., 2020). Phil is a 78-year-old male seeking treatment for IOP. Following his history of hypertension, headaches, and vision changes, certain steps could have been taken to prevent another three months of elevated IOP.

The first step that could have been taken to prevent IOP is early diagnosis and treatment. Early diagnosis and careful, lifelong treatment are among the best options for preventing IOP in patients with glaucoma (Sihota et al., 2018). Phil should have gone to the primary care provider immediately after he started having headaches and vision changes. Following the new diagnosis of glaucoma, Phil was directed to buy some medication. There is no evidence that the primary care provider or the nurse conducted a follow-up visit. Making a couple of follow-up visits could have helped to prevent high ICP because he already had ocular hypertension. The normal eye pressure ranges between 10 to 21 mm Hg and Phil’s eye pressure of 26 required a follow-up from the primary care provider to assess the effectiveness of treatment.

Open-angle glaucoma affects more than 2 million individuals in the US and early treatment and follow-up are crucial to its control (Schuster et al., 2020). Follow-up is an important aspect of patient care that maintains communication between the patient and the doctor while helping in the early identification of complications. A call from the doctor’s office could have helped prevent high IOP and understand the effect of medication on the patient. Phil should have received adequate information about medication and possible side effects. Both the nurse and the doctor failed to provide education to the patient and this contributed to adverse outcomes. For instance, Phil’s grandson and stepdaughter are the ones who searched for information on the internet about the side effects of medication and recommended stopping taking drugs without the doctor’s recommendation.

The goal of treating glaucoma is to minimize the adverse effects of the disease and improve the quality of life of the patient (Sihota et al., 2018). During treatment, providing adequate information to patients, especially about medication is crucial for long-term compliance. If adequate information about Phil’s disease, the importance of taking medication, and follow-up was given, it could have helped to prevent IOP for another three months or more. Lack of compliance with glaucoma medication is a major hurdle that prevents many patients from recovering (Sihota et al., 2018). Patients should be informed about side effects, the proper technique of instillation of eye drops, and proper storage of drugs. Phil was prescribed brimonidine but stopped taking it after Sharon told him that dry mouth and extreme fatigue were a result. Although this drug can cause these side effects, Phil should have known to contact the primary care provider and consider switching medications.

The last step that could have helped to prevent IOP for another three months is surgical management. It is known that surgery offers a better treatment approach to glaucoma than medication when medical treatment fails (Schuster et al., 2020). If adequate follow-up and observation of Phil were made, surgical management could have been proposed sooner. Overall, the lack of adequate communication between Phil and the healthcare providers after diagnosis contributed to the quick progression of the disease.

References

Schuster, A. K., Erb, C., Hoffmann, E. M., Dietlein, T., & Pfeiffer, N. (2020). The diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma. Deutsches Arzteblatt International, 117(13), 225–234. https://doi.org/10.3238/arztebl.2020.0225

Sihota, R., Angmo, D., Ramaswamy, D., & Dada, T. (2018). Simplifying “target” intraocular pressure for different stages of primary open-angle glaucoma and primary angle-closure glaucoma. Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, 66(4), 495–505. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijo.IJO_1130_17

How to write a nursing essay on elevated Intraocular Pressure (Solved)

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