A need for standardization in visual acuity measurement.

Standardization of terminologies and methods is increasingly important in all fields including ophthalmology, especially currently when research and new technology are rapidly driving improvements in medicine. This review highlights the range of notations used by vision care professionals around the world for vision measurement, and the challenges resulting from this practice. The global community is urged to move toward a uniform standard.

A need for standardization in visual acuity measurement / Medida da acuidade visual e necessidade de padronização

ABSTRACT Standardization of terminologies and methods is increasingly important in all fields including ophthalmology, especially currently when research and new technology are rapidly driving improvements in medicine. This review highlights the range of notations used by vision care professionals around the world for vision measurement, and the challenges resulting from this practice. The global community is urged to move toward a uniform standard.

RESUMO Nos tempos atuais, quando a pesquisa e a tecnologia estão avançando rapidamente, as melhorias na medicina, a padronização de terminologias e métodos está se tornando cada vez mais importante em todos os campos, incluindo a oftalmologia. Os profissionais de cuidados da visão em todo o mundo usam várias notações para a medição da visão. Nesta revisão, os autores destacam os desafios enfrentados por essa abordagem. A comunidade global precisa adotar um padrão uniforme.

Benefits and risks of immediately sequential bilateral cataract surgery: a literature review.

Immediately sequential bilateral cataract surgery (ISBCS) is a highly contended issue in ophthalmology, mainly due to the risk of bilateral endophthalmitis and financial penalties that many ophthalmologists face when performing simultaneous cataract surgeries. The purpose of this review is to understand the current status of the knowledge of ISBCS, mainly its benefits and risks and how they compare with the standard of care, delayed sequential bilateral cataract surgery. Evidence, although limited, increasingly supports ISBCS for providing faster rehabilitation, improved visual outcomes, and cost and time savings. Evidence does not support the fear of bilateral endophthalmitis resulting from the simultaneous procedure. However, stronger and greater evidence is needed before ISBCSs can be considered the standard of care. Where ISBCS can potentially create the most beneficial impact is in public eye health programmes in developing countries, but this has not yet been explored.

High-fidelity cataract surgery simulation and third world blindness.

The burden of global cataract blindness continues to rise, because the number of surgical ophthalmologists is insufficient, and they are unevenly distributed. There is an urgent need to train surgeons quickly and comprehensively in high-quality, low-cost cataract removal techniques. The authors suggest manual small-incision cataract surgery as a safe alternative to phacoemulsification cataract surgery in the developing world. They discuss the development of a novel, full-immersion, physics-based surgical training simulator as the centerpiece of a scalable, comprehensive training system for manual small-incision cataract surgery.