Bristol Uni launch study to improve referrals for patients with back of eye nerve swelling
As 50% of people with a brain tumour have no symptoms, optometrists may be the first to notice a problem
Last updated 9th Jun 2024
The University of Bristol have launched a fresh study to help improve referrals for patients with nerve swelling at the back of the eye - a condition otherwise known as 'Papilloedema'.
The condition is caused by increased pressure inside the head and could be the first sign of a brain tumour, and with half of patients with a brain tumour having no symptoms, optometrists - eye care professionals who are trained to spot abnormalities and work at opticians - may be the first in the line of defence to help notice a problem when it arises.
It can be hard to tell if someone has nerve swelling because there are many normal variations in how healthy nerves look that can be mistaken for swelling.
One way of helping to diagnose nerve swelling is using special types of imaging - which in the past were only used in the eye departments of hospitals.
Nowadays, you'll probably come across one of these pieces of tech when you go to the opticians.
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded ‘Improving the Diagnostic accuracy of referrals for Papilloedema’ (DIPP) Study aims to address these problems by developing and evaluating a set of guidelines for GPs and optometrists to improve the accuracy of diagnostic referrals.
The Bristol Uni study
Stage One: This will find out how optometrists and hospitals in different areas in England manage people who may have eye nerve swelling, and look at what training, equipment or resources might help.
Stage Two: This will involve developing guidelines for GPs and optometrists and information leaflets for patients. T
Stage Three: This will evaluate how the guidelines are used and whether patient experiences have improved as a result.
Dr Denize Atan, lead of the Eye and Brain group at Bristol Medical School: Translational Health Sciences (THS), Clinical Lead of the Neuro-ophthalmology service at Bristol Eye Hospital, and co-lead of the study, said: “Currently more people with suspected nerve swelling are being referred, which means that people who really do have nerve swelling may be waiting longer for appointments.
“We hope the DIPP Study will help educate and guide GPs, optometrists and hospital doctors to work better together to improve the care and experiences of patients in the NHS.”
Dr Alyson Huntley, Senior Research Fellow and co-lead of the study based at the Centre for Academic Primary Care at the University of Bristol, added: “The strength of the DIPP study is that we are taking an integrated approach involving health professionals and the public across the eye care pathway. We are also looking at the situation nationally to provide recommendations for service improvement across England.”
In 2016, referrals of people with suspected nerve swelling significantly increased in Bristol, which researchers think may be due to the heightened cautiousness of community health professionals following the gross negligence manslaughter conviction (which was later quashed on appeal) of an optometrist for not identifying papilloedema in a child who later died.
The first findings from the study are expected in 2023.