Patient-centred care in ophthalmology: current practices, effectiveness and challenges.

PURPOSE: To summarise different patient-centred care approaches that can be used in ophthalmology and review their effectiveness. METHODS: An Entrez Pubmed search on publications concerning different patient-centred care was performed on September 7, 2021. Articles on animal research, non-English language and review articles were excluded after manually screening by two authors. RESULTS: A total of 16 articles were reviewed after curation by the authors for relevance. Patient-centred care has advantages in improving disease knowledge, enhancing doctor-patient communications and improving mental well-being of patients. Various methods including intensive patient education, patient-centred communication techniques during consultations, personal disease records, education programme for caregivers, on-site ocular care for residential care home resident and shared medical appointments can be used to enhance patient-centred care. CONCLUSIONS: Current strategies in patient-centred care in ophthalmology were found to be useful. However, they have not been widely practised and more studies would be required generate an evidence-based recommendation for future use.

The role of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor in treatment of retinopathy of prematurity-a current review.

The review aims to evaluate the uses of conventional laser therapy and intravitreal injection of various anti-VEGF in terms of efficacy and side effects for the treatment of retinopathy of prematurity. A literature search of the publication, concerning conventional laser treatment and intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF for ROP. A total of 40 articles were reviewed after curation by the authors for relevance. Intravitreal anti-VEGF showed better ocular efficacy in zone I ROP while laser therapy had a lower recurrence rate in zone II. Comparing the two mainstay anti-VEGF agents, bevacizumab showed lower ROP recurrence rate than ranibizumab. Anti-VEGF has a higher chance in developing persistent peripheral avascularisation compared to conventional laser therapy, but a lower chance of developing high myopia. Ranibizumab has a lower systemic absorption than bevacizumab, despite having no difference in the incidence of persistent peripheral avascularisation. In conclusion, it is advised that intravitreal anti-VEGF should be used as the first-line treatment for zone I ROP while laser therapy should be the mainstay for zone II ROP owing to the different pathogenetic mechanisms. In patients with recurrence after initial anti-VEGF injection, that given ranibizumab may opt to repeat the injection while that given bevacizumab should consider supplement laser ablative treatment.

Management of Patients with Newly Diagnosed Diabetic Mellitus: Ophthalmologic Outcomes in Intensive versus Conventional Glycemic Control.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Diabetic retinopathy, a microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus, is one of the most important causes of visual loss in developed countries. Our objective is to evaluate the efficacy of intensive versus conventional glycemic control of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients in terms of ophthalmologic outcome, pathogenesis of the early worsening of diabetic retinopathy, risk factors for early worsening and diabetic retinopathy progression. METHODS: A literature search on publications concerning glycaemic control in diabetic retinopathy and management of newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus by intensive versus conventional glycaemic control. RESULTS: A total of 22 articles were reviewed after curation by the authors for relevance. Nineteen articles are randomized control trial, 2 articles are observational studies and 1 is clinical trial. Fifteen articles investigated the glycaemic control in T1DM-related diabetic retinopathy and 8 on T2DM-related diabetic retinopathy. The level of glycemia (in terms of HbA1c level) is significantly related to the diabetic retinopathy progression in both T1DM and T2DM. Intensive glycemic control was found to reduce the development of severe diabetic retinopathy, including severe non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy, neovascularization, clinically significant macular edema and loss of vision. Early worsening of diabetic retinopathy commonly occurs during the first year of intensive treatment, especially those initially present with proliferative or severe non-proliferative retinopathy. However, most patients with early worsening can recover and their long-term ophthalmologic outcomes are better when compared to conventional glycemic control. CONCLUSION: The current guideline on HbA1c level is considered sufficient for the minimization of diabetic retinopathy progression. More frequent monitoring for early worsening should be recommended for newly diagnosed diabetes cases already presenting with retinopathy.

A review on the use of telemedicine in glaucoma and possible roles in COVID-19 outbreak.

We review the use of telemedicine in glaucoma and its possible roles in the COVID-19 outbreak. We performed a literature search of published human studies on teleglaucoma on May 12, 2020, using search terms including "telemedicine" and "glaucoma" that were in English and published over the prior 10 years. This search strategy yielded a total of 14 relevant articles after manual curation. Of the 14 articles, 4 were from the same randomized control trial, 7 were prospective studies, 2 were retrospective studies, 1 was descriptive analysis, and 1 was cost-effective analysis. Seven discussed the common ophthalmologic measurements used in teleglaucoma. Four demonstrated the cost effectiveness of the use of teleglaucoma, and 3 articles investigated patient satisfaction with the use of teleglaucoma. Three articles investigated the correlation between teleglaucoma and face-to-face clinics. Five articles discussed the current use and opportunities of teleglaucoma. When compared to in-person care, teleglaucoma is more time and cost-effective, shows high patient satisfaction and fair to good agreement with in-person care; however, there is great variation in the reported sensitivity of glaucoma screening, warranting further studies to establish its efficacy. For glaucoma management, both the sensitivity and specificity must be further improved before it could be put into extensive use. Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to explore the possible extensive application of teleglaucoma in monitoring "glaucoma suspects" and maintaining glaucoma follow-up during a pandemic outbreak to reduce the risk of transmission of infection.

Review on the Use of Topical Ocular Hypertonic Saline in Corneal Edema.

PURPOSE: To review the effectiveness of topical ocular hypertonic saline in corneal edema. METHODS: Online literature search of published articles on the effectiveness of topical hypertonic saline in corneal edema, bullous keratopathy (BK), and other associated corneal conditions in humans was performed on April 16, 2020. RESULTS: A total of 16 articles were reviewed after curation by the authors for relevance, with 4 randomized control trials, 6 prospective studies, 4 retrospective studies, and 2 case reports. Efficacy of hypertonic saline eye drops varied widely, depending on the specific corneal disorder being treated. Six of the studies involved BK (edema involves epithelium), 2 in corneal edema limited to the stroma, 5 in Fuchs dystrophy, 3 in filamentary keratitis (the presence of filaments attached to corneal epithelium), 2 in recurrent corneal erosion, and 1 in jellyfish stings. There was limited efficacy for hypertonic saline in BK, whereas clinical improvement was noted in most studies for corneal edema without epithelial involvement, especially if associated with Fuchs dystrophy or corneal hydrops in keratoconus. Hypertonic saline also seems to be beneficial for other corneal disorders, such as filamentary keratitis and jellyfish stings, but not in recurrent corneal erosion. Adverse effects from topical hypertonic saline include a mild stinging or burning sensation, with no serious complications having been reported. CONCLUSIONS: Topical ocular hypertonic saline seems to be a safe and effective treatment in the management of less severe forms of corneal edema and other corneal disorders such as filamentary keratitis.

Retrospective analysis of paediatric glaucoma at a tertiary referral centre in Hong Kong.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the epidemiological features, clinical interventions, and outcomes of paediatric glaucoma in Hong Kong. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective chart review. METHODS: Clinical data from the medical records of all patients under 18 years of age diagnosed with glaucoma from January 2008 to December 2017 at a university-affiliated, tertiary referral centre were collected. The patients' demographics, etiological distribution, clinical interventions, and outcomes were analysed. RESULTS: A total of 33 subjects (53 eyes) were identified, 30 (49 eyes) of whom were Chinese. Primary glaucoma accounted for 21.2% of subjects, while 78.8% were diagnosed with secondary glaucoma. The most common subtype was juvenile-onset open angle glaucoma, followed by Sturge-Weber Syndrome related glaucoma. The most commonly performed surgical interventions were tube-shunt surgery (Ahmed Glaucoma Valve) and transscleral cyclophotocoagulation. Most eyes had significant reduction in intraocular pressure after medical or surgical intervention, but deterioration of visual acuity remained common. CONCLUSION: Most cases of childhood glaucoma in Hong Kong are secondary rather than primary, similar to other regions with low incidence of parental consanguinity. The large proportion of secondary glaucoma which generally has poorer prognosis, is reflected by the frequency of multiple surgery, and a high incidence of visual deterioration despite significant intraocular pressure reduction in most eyes.

A Review on Different Tonometers for Intraocular Pressure Measurement After Photorefractive Keratectomy or Small Incision Lenticule Extraction.

This paper aims to review different tonometers for intraocular pressure measurement in eyes after photorefractive keratectomy or small incision lenticule extraction. An Entrez Pubmed search was performed on July 19th, 2020. There were 32 eligible articles investigated in the use of tonometers or biomechanical properties of cornea in post photorefractive keratectomy eyes and 11 articles investigated in post small incision lenticule extraction eyes. Corvis ST and dynamic contour tonometry were found to be accurate for intraocular pressure measurement in post photorefractive keratectomy eyes. For post small incision lenticule extraction eyes, Corvis ST was found to be more accurate than other tonometers. Other tonometers such as Goldmann applanation tonometer, noncontact tonometry, Tonopen, ocular response analyzer can also be used in post photorefractive keratectomy or small incision lenticule extraction eyes in clinical practice; however, it is important for ophthalmologists to take note of the chances of discrepancies.

Effectiveness and Safety of Long Duration versus Short Duration Diode Laser Transscleral Cyclophotocoagulation.

PURPOSE: To compare the efficacy and safety of diode laser transscleral cyclophotocoagulation using either the long duration or short duration protocol. METHODS: Retrospective series of 23 consecutive patients with glaucoma who underwent continuous-wave diode laser transscleral cyclophotocoagulation from August 2016 to July 2018 at a tertiary hospital in Hong Kong. Laser pulse duration for the long and short duration protocols was defined as 3.0-4.0 and 1.5-2.0 s, respectively. RESULTS: There were 15 male and 8 female Chinese subjects (23 eyes), age 49-90 (71.3 ± 2.7), with 10 subjects that underwent long duration cyclophotocoagulation (power 1239.2 ± 78.3 mW, spots 13.9 ± 1.4) and 13 subjects that had short duration cyclophotocoagulation (mean power 1817.3 ± 85.7 mW, spots 14.4 ± 1.0). Six months after long and short duration cyclophotocoagulation, intraocular pressure decreased significantly from 29.9 ± 7.8 to 21.1 ± 6.5 (p < 0.01), and from 35.4 ± 2.7 to 24.1 ± 3.4 (p = 0.04), respectively, while glaucoma medications decreased significantly by 1.4 ± 0.5 (p = 0.02) in the long duration group only. Reduction of medications after short duration cyclophotocoagulation was less and did not reach statistical significance (0.9 ± 0.9, p = 0.15). There was no significant difference of visual deterioration and complication rates. CONCLUSION: Both types of cyclophotocoagulation were equally effective in lowering intraocular pressure by 6 months, but the short duration protocol, using higher laser power, was able to achieve a greater and earlier reduction, at 3 months. However, the long duration protocol, using less laser power, appears better at reducing medication requirement by 6 months.