Quantitatively comparing weekly changes in retinal vascular characteristics of eyes eventually treated versus not treated for retinopathy of prematurity.

Purpose: To quantitatively compare retinal vascular characteristics over time in eyes eventually treated versus not treated for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), using ROPtool analysis of narrow-field retinal images.

Methods: This longitudinal study used prospectively collected narrow-field retinal images of infants screened for ROP, prior to treatment, if needed. Images were analyzed using a methodology that combines quadrant-level measures from several images of the same eye.

NICU Fathers: Improving the Quality of Paternal Support in the NICU.

Background: Parental support in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is critical; yet, the nursing staff may struggle to provide optimal support to NICU fathers. Generally, fathers are not viewed as equally competent caregivers when compared with mothers, and fathers often impart these beliefs on themselves. Increasing the nursing staff's knowledge and understanding of paternal support can change attitudes and foster positive behavior changes, enhancing the perception of support received by NICU fathers.

ROPtool analysis of plus and pre-plus disease in narrow-field images: a multi-image quadrant-level approach.

Background: The presence of plus disease is important in determining when to treat retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), but the diagnosis of plus disease is subjective. Semiautomated computer programs (eg, ROPtool) can objectively measure retinal vascular characteristics in retinal images, but are limited by image quality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether ROPtool can accurately identify pre-plus and plus disease in narrow-field images of varying qualities using a new methodology that combines quadrant-level data from multiple images of a single retina.

Patient preferences for treatment of metastatic melanoma.

Aim: To investigate patient preferences for clinical attributes of first-line metastatic melanoma treatments.

Materials & Methods: A discrete-choice experiment and best-worst scaling exercise were used to assess relative preferences for treatment attributes.

Results: The 200 survey respondents had distinct preferences.

Evaluating a Portable, Noncontact Fundus Camera for Retinopathy of Prematurity Screening by Nonophthalmologist Health Care Workers.

Purpose: To evaluate (1) the feasibility of non-ophthalmologist healthcare workers (HCWs) to obtain images of sufficient quality for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) screening using a FDA-approved portable, non-contact, narrow-field fundus camera (i.e., Pictor™), and (2) the accuracy of grading these images to identify infants who developed treatment-warranted (type 1) ROP.