1: The Interventional Glaucoma Paradigm (ft. Austin Lifferth, OD, FAAO)

In Episode 1 of From Paper to Clinic, host Hamza Shah, OD, MS, FAAO, is joined by Austin Lifferth, OD, FAAO, to discuss interventional glaucoma. In their conversation, they emphasize a proactive approach over only traditional topical treatments, highlighting the benefits of procedural treatments like selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT), which offers better disease control, reduced productivity loss, and improved patient outcomes.

They also discuss the importance of goniotomy as an initial step and the need for optometrists to adopt interventional glaucoma practices. Lifford also outlines the stages of glaucoma and the frequency of follow-ups, stressing the importance of correlation between tests. They collectively predict a future shift towards more procedural treatments, aiming for a proactive approach to glaucoma management.

The paper inspiring this discussion is the "Interventional glaucoma consensus treatment protocol" from Funke et al, published in Expert Review of Ophthalmology.