Seminars in ophthalmology
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a devastating impact on patient lives. COVID-19 impacts the respiratory system and this leads to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which increases the likelihood of intensive care unit (ICU) admission. ⋯ This article presents an overview of sight-impairing ophthalmic conditions seen in COVID-19 patients admitted to ICU admissions. The article provides a brief commentary on the clinical signs and examinations that intensive care nurses and doctors have to be vigilant of before escalating the patient care to the Ophthalmic team.
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Telemedicine is the provision of healthcare-related services from a distance and is poised to move healthcare from the physician's office back into the patient's home. The field of ophthalmology is often at the forefront of technological advances in medicine including telemedicine and the use of artificial intelligence. ⋯ This review describes the current status of tele-ophthalmology in the United States including benefits, hurdles, current programs, technology, and developments in artificial intelligence. With ongoing advances patients may benefit from improved detection and earlier treatment of eye diseases, resulting in better care and improved visual outcomes.
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Corneal epithelial stem cells are adult somatic stem cells located at the limbus and represent the ultimate source of transparent corneal epithelium. When these limbal stem cells become dysfunctional or deficient, limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) develops. ⋯ Several techniques have been reported for limbal stem cell transplantation (LSCT). We introduce the surgical techniques, examine the success rate, and discuss the postoperative complications of conjunctival limbal autograft (CLAU), cultivated limbal stem cell transplantation (CLET), simple limbal epithelial transplantation (SLET), and limbal allograft, including keratolimbal allografts (KLAL) and living-related conjunctival allograft (LR-CLAL).
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Traumatic brain injury results from an acute impact to the head causing brain dysfunction. Concussion is a form of mild traumatic brain injury. There are significant short- and long-term sequelae of concussion, and early diagnosis and management are key to recovery. ⋯ Concussion generally occurs out of the medical setting, and access to a trained examiner or equipment to assist in diagnosis is limited. For this reason, much research is focused on developing a concussion test that is practical and reliable, and technology is likely to play an important role in this. Ultimately, no single test is a substitute for clinical judgment and multifaceted testing.
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Seminars in ophthalmology · Jan 2016
Review Comparative StudyRanibizumab (Lucentis) versus Bevacizumab (Avastin) for the Treatment of Age-Related Macular Degeneration: An Economic Disparity of Eye Health.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in the elderly, and the advent of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor agents (VEGF) has revolutionized treatment for neovascular AMD. Two of the most popular anti-VEGF agents, ranibizumab (Lucentis; Genentech/Roche) and bevacizumab (Avastin; Genentech/Roche), effectively treat neovascular AMD but have a substantial difference in price. ⋯ The decision to use one drug over the other is multifactorial with influences from industry as well as individual physician biases. However, the additional billions spent on ranibizumab result in a large economic disparity that is not rationalized by cost effectiveness models.