A posterior vitreous detachment is a common, degenerative process in which the vitreous cortex becomes detached from retina.
Symptom patterns found in patients who later developed a retinal break:
(1) flashes and > 10 floaters at initial examination
(2) flashes and a description of clouds or curtain at the initial examination
(3) increase in floaters after the initial examination to > 10
(4) development of clouds or curtain in a patient with <= 10 floaters at the initial examination
NOTE: The wording in the text is somewhat ambiguous with regards to how the different symptoms are combined. The above rules are my attempt at parsing the sentences. Before using this algorithm, it would be prudent to validate the wording for yourself.
Interpretation:
• If the patient had one or more of these findings, then the patient must be re-examined within 6 weeks.
• If the patient did not have these findings, then a re-examination is only necessary if the symptoms develop or worsen after the initial visit.
Performance:
• The positive predictive value is 75%. The negative predictive value is 99.6%.
Limitations:
• The authors are planning to validate the rules in a future study.
