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Glaucoma And Closed Angle Glaucoma

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In the normal eye, the aqueous humor is the fluid circulation within and that also flows out via a drainage canal. When the outward flow is inhibited, there is a buildup of ocular pressure inside that causes damage, and this is called glaucoma. This condition can be traumatic for the patient as it has no cure. There are two categories that will be discussed in this paper and they are open angle glaucoma and closed angle glaucoma (The glaucoma you may be missing, 2013).
Closed Angle Glaucoma
Closed angle glaucoma (CAG), or acute glaucoma, stems from a narrowing or blockage through the pupil from the posterior chamber to the anterior chamber and causes the iris to stick out or protrude until it obstructs the trabecular meshwork where the …show more content…

A history and performing an examination needs to be completed by the nurse practitioner (NP) to evaluate the patients symptoms and complaints. The NP should ask questions that pertain to onset and duration of symptoms, as well as anything that triggers or alleviates them. The NP should also take note of the patient’s medical history that includes any familial tendencies towards CAG. Medication will need evaluated as in some cases this can cause the patient to experience symptoms of CAG. Further examination of the patient may reveal a mid-dilated nonreactive pupil, corneal edema, and anterior chamber inflammation. Tonometry will need to be done to measure intraocular pressure (IOP), and an IOP in the range of forty to ninety millimeters of mercury (mm/Hg) may indicate CAG where as normal pressure ranges from fourteen to sixteen mm/Hg. The test is normally performed by an optometrist as is required anesthetic drops (American Optometric Association, 2011). Evaluation of the anterior chamber angle depth should be performed as part of the eye examination and can be done using the pen light shadow test or the lateral pen test. To perform this test, the NP shines the pen light into the eye on the lateral side of the patent’s head next to the temple. The NP is visually looking for the light to illuminate the iris of the eye. If the NP visualizes a shadow, this would be an indicator of increase ocular pressure related to glaucoma

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