Disparities Between Clinical Trial Recruitment and Real-World Demographics in Macular Edema Secondary to Retinal Vein Occlusion.

Purpose: Clinical trial cohorts frequently differ demographically from the overall population receiving treatment for the condition under study. Our study describes the racial, ethnic, and gender composition of the cohorts of retinal vein occlusion (RVO) macular edema (ME) clinical trials and compares this to the racial, ethnic, and gender composition of patients undergoing treatment for ME secondary to RVO from the (Intelligent Research in Sight) IRIS Registry.

Design: Retrospective observational case series Subjects: Participants in RVO-ME clinical trials that met the following inclusion criteria: conducted in the United States of America, Phase III completed, data reported between January 1, 2000, and January 1, 2020, and demographic information reported with results.

A New Era of Ophthalmology Leadership? A Descriptive and Comparative Analysis of Ophthalmology Department Chairs in 2024.

Purpose: To (1) characterize and analyze the demographics and scholarly achievements of United States (US) academic ophthalmology department chairs, and (2) to elucidate trends in the academic and demographic profiles of newly hired department chairs.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Methods: Online search of publicly available resources conducted January 1, 2024.

Potential Gaps in Eye Care Based on Evaluation of Federally Qualified Health Centers.

Importance: Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) are federally funded community health clinics that provide comprehensive care to underserved populations, making them potential opportunities to offer eye care and address unmet health care needs. Evaluating the presence of eye care services at FQHCs in Florida is important in understanding and addressing possible gaps in care for the state's large uninsured and underserved populations.

Objective: To determine whether FQHCs in Florida are currently offering eye care services, where they are available, what services are being offered, and who provides them.

Medical Accuracy of Reddit in Patient Discussions of Prospective Ocular Stem Cell Therapies for Retinal Degenerative Diseases.

To evaluate the medical accuracy in discussions of stem cell therapy for retinal diseases on a social media internet forum (Reddit). A cross-sectional study assessed 11 Reddit forums and 411 unique comments from 2017 to 2022. Evaluated participants were all anonymous Reddit users.

Review and analysis of history and utilization of panretinal photocoagulation and ranibizumab after publication of protocol S.

Purpose Of Review: We describe the history, utilization, and series results of panretinal photocoagulation (PRP) and ranibizumab and provide an analysis of PRP and ranibizumab usage before versus after the publication of the 2-year and 5-year results of the Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network (DRCR.net) Protocol S trial.

Recent Findings: Number of ranibizumabs performed began to increase and number of PRPs performed began to decrease in 2016.

Management of vitreous floaters: a review.

Purpose Of Review: Vitreous floaters, characterized by the perception of spots or shadows in the visual field, commonly result from posterior vitreous detachment and can cause chronic symptoms in affected patients. The diagnosis of posterior vitreous detachment is typically determined clinically and can sometimes be confirmed with optical coherence topography (OCT) [1 ▪▪ ] . The objective of this review is to review management options for symptomatic vitreous floaters.

Geographic Trends in Ophthalmology Resident Physician Compensation and Cost-of-Living Expenses.

Importance: Given that resident physician financial strain has been associated with poor outcomes, objective metrics to forecast financial well-being may be useful to (1) applicants when evaluating ophthalmology residency programs and (2) programs when determining resident benefits.

Objectives: To determine and compare the relative value of ophthalmology resident stipends plus benefits when adjusted for cost-of-living expenses and to analyze program characteristics associated with greater resident net incomes.

Design, Setting, And Participants: In this cross-sectional study, the American Medical Association's Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database was used to identify US Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited ophthalmology residency programs.

Update on "Cell Therapy" Clinics Offering Treatments of Ocular Conditions Using Direct-To-Consumer Marketing Websites in the U.S.

Purpose: To assess the scope of U.S.-based companies advertising and administering non-Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approved cell-based therapy (herein called NFACT) for ocular conditions based on information from companies' public websites after the FDA's legal actions against specific NFACT clinics in 2018 and 2019.

Google Search Trends to Assess Public Interest and Concern About Pegcetacoplan for the Treatment of Geographic Atrophy.

Objective: To assess global trends in interest surrounding the newly Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved treatment for geographic atrophy, (GA), Syfovre (pegcetacoplan), and related searches.

Methods: We utilized Google Trends, in order to gauge the public interest in Syfovre from October 16, 2022, to October 8, 2023.

Results: Notable spikes in relative search volumes (RSV)s for "Syfovre" were observed in mid-to-late February 2023, and in March and April 2023, coinciding with the drug's FDA approval and introduction to the market.

Faricimab in Previously Treated Eyes With Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration: An Assessment of Durability and Treatment Outcomes.

Background And Objective: This study evaluated the efficacy and durability of faricimab in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) who were previously treated with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agents.

Patients And Methods: This retrospective case series was conducted at a single tertiary center in the United States. It focused on nAMD patients who transitioned to faricimab after initial anti-VEGF therapy, with a follow-up period of at least 9 months.

Perspectives of U.S. Ophthalmology Residents and Medical Students on Ophthalmology Exposure during Medical School.

 In recent decades, ophthalmology exposure in medical school has been increasingly reduced. In turn, medical students have expressed concern over their ophthalmic skills. Research investigating the status of ophthalmology education in U.

Attending Perceptions on the Use of Preference Signaling in the Ophthalmology Residency Application Process.

 This article characterizes perspectives of ophthalmologists involved in the residency selection process regarding the potential impact of preference signaling on the ophthalmology residency match.  An anonymous online questionnaire generated from SurveyMonkey was approved by the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology (AUPO) Data Resource Committee for distribution to 391 individuals from the AUPO Departmental Chairs, Program Directors, and Directors of Medical Student Education email listservs in August 2022.  A total of 96 (24.

A Comparative Study of Responses to Retina Questions from Either Experts, Expert-Edited Large Language Models, or Expert-Edited Large Language Models Alone.

Objective: To assess the quality, empathy, and safety of expert edited large language model (LLM), human expert created, and LLM responses to common retina patient questions.

Design: Randomized, masked multicenter study.

Participants: Twenty-one common retina patient questions were randomly assigned among 13 retina specialists.

Intrinsic disorder in the human vitreous proteome.

The vitreous is a vital component of the eye, occupying a substantial portion of its volume and maintaining its structure. This study delves into the presence and significance of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) within the vitreous, utilizing a dataset of 1240 vitreous proteins previously discovered in the vitreous proteome by Murthy et al.in five healthy subjects.

An Analysis of Solicitations From Predatory Journals in Ophthalmology.

Purpose: To evaluate trends associated with email communication from potentially predatory publishers to faculty in ophthalmology.

Design: Cross-sectional study METHODS: Ophthalmologists (n = 14) from various subspecialties and institutions were recruited to participate. Participants identified unsolicited emails that they had received originating from publishers in May 2021.

Cytomegalovirus Retinitis Associated With Intravitreal Dexamethasone Implant Injection.

To describe an immunocompetent patient with cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis after dexamethasone implant injection and review previously documented cases. A review of case reports and literature was performed. A 75-year-old man presented with acute decreased vision in the left eye.

Review and analysis of history and utilization of pneumatic retinopexy after pneumatic retinopexy versus vitrectomy for the management of primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment outcomes randomized trial (PIVOT).

Purpose Of Review: We describe the history and series results of pneumatic retinopexy (PnR)and provide an analysis of PnR utilization after publication of results of pneumatic retinopexy versus vitrectomy for the management of primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment outcomes randomized trial (PIVOT).

Recent Findings: No significant trends were found for average number of services ( P  = 0.153) of PnR after the publication of PIVOT results.

ChatGPT enters the room: what it means for patient counseling, physician education, academics, and disease management.

Purpose Of Review: This review seeks to provide a summary of the most recent research findings regarding the utilization of ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot, in the field of ophthalmology in addition to exploring the limitations and ethical considerations associated with its application.

Recent Findings: ChatGPT has gained widespread recognition and demonstrated potential in enhancing patient and physician education, boosting research productivity, and streamlining administrative tasks. In various studies examining its utility in ophthalmology, ChatGPT has exhibited fair to good accuracy, with its most recent iteration showcasing superior performance in providing ophthalmic recommendations across various ophthalmic disorders such as corneal diseases, orbital disorders, vitreoretinal diseases, uveitis, neuro-ophthalmology, and glaucoma.

Weight loss, bariatric surgery, and novel antidiabetic drugs effects on diabetic retinopathy: a review.

Purpose Of Review: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a leading cause of visual impairment, and the increasing prevalence of diabetes and obesity will impact rates of visual impairment moving forward. Our review aims to synthesize the current body of evidence regarding the impact of lifestyle interventions, such as weight loss, bariatric surgery, and novel antidiabetic drugs, on DR.

Recent Findings: Literature review revealed insufficient evidence regarding the impact of weight loss on DR.

Self-Reported Perceptions of Preparedness among Incoming Ophthalmology Residents.

 The purpose of this study was to assess the self-perceived preparedness of incoming postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) and postgraduate year 2 (PGY2) ophthalmology interns/residents to carry out core competencies in ophthalmology.  An online survey was created using the Survey Monkey survey platform and distributed to all ophthalmology resident applicants to the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute from the 2021 to 2022 and 2022 to 2023 application cycles. The survey contained questions pertaining to demographics, prior ophthalmic experience, online resources that were used to prepare for ophthalmology, and self-perceived preparedness to carry out key clinical skills in ophthalmology.