Interviews

Judith Lavrich, MD, and Jordan Hamburger outline findings from their research on virtual school and children's eye health.

Surgical decisions with children who have ophthalmic conditions need buy in from parents, but also the children as they get older, said William Katowitz, MD, attending surgeon in the Division of Ophthalmology at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Certain ophthalmic subspecialties were more well suited for telemedicine use based on what tends to get covered in patient visits, said Darren Chen, MD student at Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences.

Most of the adverse events that resulted from use of teprotumumab have been reversible, said Shoaib Ugradar, MD, UCLA Stein Eye Center Santa Monica.

Unlike other options in the past, teprotumumab actually addresses bulging eye and double vision associated with thyroid eye disease (TED), which patients primarily care about, explained Robert G. Fante, MD, FACS, president of the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery and facial plastic surgeon and cosmetic surgeon, Fante Eye & Face Centre in Denver, Colorado.

Whether or not a child’s vision is impacted by ptosis, there are usually alternatives to surgery, which is elective, said William Katowitz, MD, attending surgeon in the Division of Ophthalmology at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Robert A. Gabbay, MD, PhD, chief scientific and medical officer at the American Diabetes Association, explains why clinical trials need to be inclusive and how the Health Equity Now initiative is working to recruit more diverse populations with diabetes.

Theresa Juday, RPh, director, Specialty Product Development, CVS Health, speaks about the barriers affecting uptake of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as a first-line treatment for insomnia.

Robert A. Gabbay, MD, PhD, chief scientific and medical officer at the American Diabetes Association, discusses COVID-19 vaccinations among people with diabetes as they have been disproportionally affected by the pandemic.

The American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS) will be meeting in person in New Orleans to go over the latest scientific advances, said Robert G. Fante, MD, FACS, president of ASOPRS and facial plastic surgeon and cosmetic surgeon, Fante Eye & Face Centre in Denver, Colorado.

At the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS) 2021 Fall Scientific Symposium, Shoaib Ugradar, MD, UCLA Stein Eye Center Santa Monica, will receive an award for his work on floppy eyelid syndrome and using collagen cross-linking to stiffen the eyelid and help patients.

Richard Wasserman, MD, PhD, an allergist and immunologist with Allergy Partners of North Texas, an early adopter of food allergy oral immunotherapy (OIT), discusses how attitudes have changed around the practice.

James Auran, MD, a professor of ophthalmology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and president of the American Society of Ophthalmic Trauma, explains what he is most looking forward to at the 2021 conference of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO).

David Ramsey, MD, PhD, MPH, previews a session at the American Academy of Ophthalmology 2021 conference that explores whether telehealth visits among patients with diabetes affected rates of completed in-person eye examinations.

Carina Venter, PhD, RD, allergy specialist dietitian and associate professor in pediatric allergy and immunology at Children's Hospital Colorado and the University of Colorado, discusses the gut microbiome’s complex relationship with our immune system and diet diversity’s potential role in allergic disease and food allergy–related outcomes.

Brian T. Kelly, MD, MA, FACAAI, Midwest Allergy and Asthma Clinic, and the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology annual meeting program chair, discusses the importance of distinguishing between non–immunoglobulin E (IgE)– and IgE-mediated food allergies, as well as remaining up to date on guidance for eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE).

Peter Hotez, MD, PhD, FASTMH, professor of pediatrics and molecular virology and dean, National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, and codirector, Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, addresses antivaccination sentiment and how to overcome it to find an optimal solution to end the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2017, guidelines about when to feed peanuts to infants changed to recommend early feeding by 4 to 6 months of age depending on 3 risk levels, but these allergy prevention strategies are still not widespread, according to Ruchi Gupta, MD, MPH, professor of pediatrics and medicine, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, who discussed the topic at the 2021 ACAAI Annual Scientific Meeting.

Daniel Greer, PharmD, BCPP, clinical assistant professor, Rutgers Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, speaks on at-risk populations of chronic insomnia, and the reciprocal relationship between the condition and other comorbidities.

Jonathan Silverberg, MD, PhD, MPH, associate professor of dermatology, director of clinical research and patch testing, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, discusses how small molecule inhibitors are used in atopic dermatitis, as well as why there is no one-size-fits approach to implementing them in practice.

David R. Stukus, MD, FACAAI, of Nationwide Children's Hospital and The Ohio State University College of Medicine, and a board member of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, discusses the connection between health literacy and lack of trust in science and also addresses allergy concerns toward COVID-19 vaccines.

Helen Bygrave, MD, chronic diseases advisor for the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF; Doctors Without Borders) Access Campaign, explains how the campaign is aiming to eliminate the threat of cryptococcal meningitis among persons living with HIV by 2030.

There’s more interest than ever in performance-based payments as they become less novel and frightening, said Jane F. Barlow, MD, MPH, MBA.

Brian T. Kelly, MD, MA, FACAAI, Midwest Allergy and Asthma Clinic, and the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting program chair, discusses how this year’s conference content will demonstrate the joint themes of innovation and diversity, as well as what exciting developments presenters and attendees alike should watch for.

Peter Hotez, MD, PhD, FASTMH, professor of pediatrics and molecular virology and dean, National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, and codirector, Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, addresses the approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 and emphasized its benefits far outweigh the rare possibility of myocarditis.

As time goes on, we're finding out more and more benefits of sodium glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, said Robert A. Gabbay, MD, PhD, the chief science and medical officer at the American Diabetes Association.

Oncology drugs are a huge driver of cost, but there’s a lot of innovation happening in the space to improve care and outcomes for patients, said Michelle Booth, PharmD, director of specialty clinical solutions at Magellan Rx Management.

Specialty pharmaceuticals have a lot of promise, but patients have to go through hoops to get them. Technology can improve interoperability and create a better patient experience, said Jim Adams, chief innovation officer, AllianceRx Walgreens Prime.