Evaluation of a Telemedicine Model for Following Keratoconus Patients in the Era of COVID-19 Pandemic.
Telemed J E Health
; 28(7): 1023-1027, 2022 07.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1522103
ABSTRACT
Purpose:
To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and reliability of a telemedicine approach for detecting keratoconus patients' progression in the era of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Materials andMethods:
A retrospective study, comparing the office and telemedicine evaluations in determining whether keratoconus patients were at risk of progression and indicated for further treatment of corneal crosslinking, was conducted. The clinic examination included best spectacle corrected visual acuity measurement and manifest refraction, full ophthalmic examination, and corneal topography, which provided with the gold-standard diagnosis. The remote assessment included two decisions of keratoconus progression or stability the first evaluation after revealing patient demographics and topography images, and the second with the manifest refraction and clinical findings as documented in the outpatient clinic visit.Results:
Two-hundred and four eyes of 102 keratoconus patients were included. There was an agreement of assessment between the in-person and the remote diagnostic decisions in 192 (94%) of the eyes. Among the remaining 12 eyes, a false-positive diagnosis was made in 8 (3.9%) eyes, whereas a false-negative diagnosis was made in 4 (1.9%) eyes. The remote assessment showed a sensitivity and specificity of 69% and 96%, respectively. In no case was remote diagnostic decision 2 different from remote decision 1.Conclusions:
The telemedicine model yielded high specificity, but low sensitivity values, therefore, not suitable as an alternative for keratoconus patient follow-up (Clinical trial number TLV-0363-20).Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Telemedicine
/
COVID-19
/
Keratoconus
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Diagnostic study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Telemed J E Health
Journal subject:
Medical Informatics
/
Health Services
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Tmj.2021.0178
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