Ophthalmology

A quality improvement study found that severe visual impairment was affected by various social determinants of health, including low socioeconomic status, race, and educational level.

Recent FDA approvals and therapies under FDA review are adding new treatments to the armamentarium, said Paul Hahn, MD, vitreoretinal surgeon at NJRetina.

The results of a study showing improved functional vision and retinal sensitivity have implications for gene therapy in ophthalmological conditions, explained Michel Michaelides, MD, FACP, a consultant ophthalmologist and a professor of ophthalmology at the University College London Institute of Ophthalmology's Genetics Department.

Patients with uveitis and their physicians may be very familiar with intravitreal injections, but triamcinolone acetonide injectable suspension (Xipere) has a novel delivery method, said Steven Yeh, MD, professor and the Stanley Truhlsen Jr. Chair in Ophthalmology at the Truhlsen Eye Institute, University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Different factors have contributed to the lack of racial diversity in ophthalmology residency programs, and these programs build the future of the workforce, said Parisa Emami-Naeni, MD, MPH, assistant professor of ophthalmology at University of California, Davis, and vitreoretinal surgeon and uveitis specialist at UC Davis Eye Center.

The authors describe a primary care–based diabetic retinopathy screening program incorporating telemedicine, strong health information technology engagement, and development of clinical informatics tools.

It is an exciting time in the field of retina for emerging technologies, said Paul Hahn, MD, vitreoretinal surgeon at NJRetina.

Posters presented at AAO 2022 found that family medicine doctors and artificial intelligence (AI) were able to screen patients for diabetic retinopathy (DR) effectively, although false negatives in AI need to be improved.

There has been a sea change in how retina specialists treat retinal diseases, with a progressive shift toward more utilization of anti–vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), said Paul Hahn, MD, vitreoretinal surgeon at NJRetina.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) will hold its conference in person in Chicago and online from September 30 to October 3, 2022.

A study conducted in Dalian, China, found that children aged 6 to 18 years in urban areas had a higher likelihood of myopia and anisometropia compared with students in rural areas.

Teleophthalmology not only improves access to care and lowers the cost of care, but it can reduce rates of vision loss for patients with type 2 diabetes, said Parisa Emami-Naeni, MD, MPH, assistant professor of ophthalmology at University of California, Davis, and vitreoretinal surgeon and uveitis specialist at UC Davis Eye Center.

Adolescents who identified as Black, Mexican-American, or low-income and/or were not US citizens were more likely to report worse subjective visual function.

A study found that patients who had no need of rescue therapy had a reduced risk of corticosteroid-related intraocular pressure (IOP) elevation when using SCS triamcinolone acetonide.

A prospective, multicenter, longitudinal observational study found that diabetic retinopathy worsening could be associated with fluorescein angiography predominantly peripheral lesions over 4 years.

Different populations respond differently to drugs and treatments, but without adequate representation in clinical trials, it will be hard to judge the effectiveness of a new treatment, explained Vivienne Hau, MD, clinical assistant professor with the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine.

A cohort study found that there was an inverse association between COVID-19 infection and wearing glasses in an unadjusted analysis, although this association was not identified when adjusting for confounders.

Adequate training will help physicians and researchers better address the needs of the communities they’re targeting, explained Vivienne Hau, MD, clinical assistant professor with the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine.

After examining national survey data, researchers found a bidirectional association in patients with cataracts and with asthma.

Insurance reimbursement for teleophthalmology services is not consistent among populations and only recently received a boost due to flexibilities allowed during the pandemic, said Parisa Emami-Naeini, MD, MPH, assistant professor of ophthalmology at University of California, Davis, and vitreoretinal surgeon and uveitis specialist at UC Davis Eye Center.

A systematic review found that children who engaged in remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic had induced or exacerbated visual disturbances.

Getting a more diverse patient population in clinical trials may be as simple as including paperwork in more languages, but good training among investigators and study coordinators can help identify unconscious biases that may also have an impact, explained Vivienne Hau, MD, clinical assistant professor with the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine.

Research presented at the American Society of Retina Specialists conference found that vitreoretinal surgery had cost and health implications in both Europe and the United States.

In retina surgery, obtaining prior authorization is an extra burden, and a delay in treatment for some of these patients could mean loss of vision, said Sabin Dang, MD, ophthalmologist with The Retina Institute.

A recent study examined whether an artificial intelligence (AI) trained risk model could screen for retinopathy of prematurity, a leading cause of preventable blindness in infants in low- and middle-income countries, via telehealth.