Alcon (Fort Worth, Texas) recently received approval from U.S. regulators for dorzolamide hydrochloride 2%, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Dorzolamide is marketed as Trusopt by Merck (Whitehouse Station, N.J.) and by several other manufacturers under the generic name.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE, London) and the National Clinical Guideline Centre have issued a guideline to improve the diagnosis and management of chronic open angle glaucoma (COAG) and ocular hypertension (OHT), the groups announced. The guidelines suggest how to best diagnose COAG, how to monitor COAG and OHT or suspected COAG/OHT, and which treatments should be considered. “There is variation in current clinical practice, so this new NICE guideline means that for the first time we now have the means for a consistent national approach to managing glaucoma or suspected glaucoma, and high eye pressure,” said Andrew Dillon, NICE, London, United Kingdom. Recommendations from the guideline include information on suggested tests to offer, monitoring schedules, initial prostaglandin or beta-blocker treatments, and alternatives for those failing medical therapy. The guidance will be available at .

The Chinese Ministry of Health (MoH) has endorsed the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s (AAO) Preferred Practice Patterns as its national standard for ophthalmic practice and training, the AAO said in a press release. The decision by the Ministry is the first time China has mandated standards of patient care and professional training for any medical specialty. The AAO’s Preferred Practice Patterns are a series of guidelines that identify the characteristics and components of quality eye care. The Chinese Ophthalmological Society (COS) had previously endorsed the Preferred Practice Patterns as the standard for the profession in the country. There are currently more than 20,000 ophthalmologists in China, according to the AAO. The agreement was formalized at a signing ceremony and two-day symposium in Beijing last month. The symposium was sponsored by the COS, the Chinese Medical Doctors Association Ophthalmologist Branch, and the Health Human Resource Development Center of the Ministry of Health. “I believe it will improve our local ophthalmologists’ professional knowledge and clinical skills,” Huang Jie-fu, vice president of the Ministry of Health, said in remarks prepared for the signing ceremony. “It surely will play an important role in promoting Chinese ophthalmology development.”

EYEWORLD WEEK Online edited by David Laber and Enette Ngoei

EyeWorld Week Online (ISSN 1089-0319), a digital publication of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery and the American Society of Ophthalmic Administrators, is published every Monday, distributed by e-mail, and posted live on Monday mornings.

Chief Medical Editors: Stephen A. Obstbaum, M.D., and Stephen S. Lane, M.D.

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