Building a Culture of Safety in Ophthalmology.

Patient safety focused on a reduction in both procedural and diagnostic error is the number one concern of the United States healthcare system in the 21st century. The American Board of Ophthalmology has a longstanding interest in patient safety, and in 2015, teamed with the American Academy of Ophthalmology to convene all ophthalmology subspecialties and other prominent national organizations to address patient safety in ophthalmology. This article reviews the topic and highlights concerns for ophthalmologists.

Bacterial endogenous endophthalmitis in Vietnam: a randomized controlled trial comparing vitrectomy with silicone oil versus vitrectomy alone.

Background/aims: To compare treatment outcomes with and without silicone oil tamponade in patients undergoing pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) for severe endogenous bacterial endophthalmitis (BEE).

Methods: One hundred and eight consecutive patients with severe BEE (defined by the absence of pupil red reflex at presentation and/or dense vitreous opacity on ultrasound and no improvement after 24-36 hours of medical treatment) were randomly assigned to two treatment groups: Group 1, standard PPV with intravitreal antibiotics; and Group 2, PPV with intravitreal antibiotics and silicone tamponade. Overall success was defined as: a visual acuity ≥ count fingers at 1 meter, with an attached retina, and no intraocular oil.

Review for disease of the year: differential diagnosis of ocular sarcoidosis.

Sarcoid is characterized by the heterogeneity of its clinical expression as well as the silent nature and nonspecificity of many of its clinical findings. Diagnosis is often difficult due to its ability to mimic other diseases. In the absence of a highly specific confirmatory test, one must be cognizant of the features that distinguish these simulating conditions from sarcoidosis.

Development of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for diabetes: the Department of Veterans Affairs/Department of Defense guidelines initiative.

Objective: To describe the Veterans Affairs (VA)/Department of Defense (DoD) Clinical Practice Guidelines for diabetes and contrast selected recommendations with those of the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

Research Design And Methods: We summarize the general structure of the VA/DoD Guidelines and describe the rationale for recommendations issued in 2003 for glycemic control, management of hypertension, and retinopathy screening. We compare the synthesis of evidence and resulting recommendations for these content areas with the 2004 American Diabetes Association Clinical Practice Recommendations.

Progression of visual field loss in untreated glaucoma patients and glaucoma suspects in St. Lucia, West Indies.

Purpose: A 1986-1987 survey found 8.8% prevalence of open-angle glaucoma in the black population of St. Lucia, West Indies.