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Tan ACS, Schwartz R, Anaya D, Chatziralli I, Yuan M, Cicinelli MV, Faes L, Mustapha M, Phasukkijwatana N, Pohlmann D, Reynolds R, Rosenblatt A, Savastano A, Touhami S, Vaezi K, Ventura CV, Vogt D, Ambati J, de Smet MD, Loewenstein A. Are intravitreal injections essential during the COVID-19 pandemic? Global preferred practice patterns and practical recommendations. Int J Retina Vitreous 2022; 8:33. [PMID: 35672810 PMCID: PMC9171474 DOI: 10.1186/s40942-022-00380-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2021] [Accepted: 05/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Tertiary outpatient ophthalmology clinics are high-risk environments for COVID-19 transmission, especially retina clinics, where regular follow-up is needed for elderly patients with multiple comorbidities. Intravitreal injection therapy (IVT) for chronic macular diseases, is one of the most common procedures performed, associated with a significant burden of care because of the vigorous treatment regimen associated with multiple investigations. While minimizing the risk of COVID-19 infection transmission is a priority, this must be balanced against the continued provision of sight-saving ophthalmic care to patients at risk of permanent vision loss. This review aims to give evidence-based guidelines on managing IVT during the COVID-19 pandemic in common macular diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, diabetic macula edema and retinal vascular disease and to report on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected IVT practices worldwide. To illustrate some real-world examples, 18 participants in the International Retina Collaborative, from 15 countries and across four continents, were surveyed regarding pre- and during- COVID-19 pandemic IVT practices in tertiary ophthalmic centers. The majority of centers reported a reduction in the number of appointments to reduce the risk of the spread of COVID-19 with varying changes to their IVT regimen to treat various macula diseases. Due to the constantly evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the uncertainty about the normal resumption of health services, we suggest that new solutions for eye healthcare provision, like telemedicine, may be adopted in the future when we consider new long-term adaptations required to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- A C S Tan
- Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore, Singapore. .,Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore, Singapore. .,Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
| | - R Schwartz
- Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - D Anaya
- Department of Retina, Clínica de Oftalmología de Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia
| | - I Chatziralli
- 2nd Department of Ophthalmology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - M Yuan
- Department of Retina, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - M V Cicinelli
- School of Medicine, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.,Department of Ophthalmology, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - L Faes
- Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.,Cantonal Hospital Lucerne, Lucerne, Switzerland
| | - M Mustapha
- Department of Ophthalmology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kulala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - N Phasukkijwatana
- Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - D Pohlmann
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, FreieUiversität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.
| | - R Reynolds
- Department of Ophthalmology, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, Wales, UK
| | - A Rosenblatt
- Department of Ophthalmology, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center Tel-Aviv, Israel Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - A Savastano
- Ophthalmology Department, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.,Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy
| | - S Touhami
- Department of Ophthalmology, Reference Center in Rare diseases, DHU Sight Restore, Hôpital Pitié Salpêtrière, Sorbonne Université, 47-83 Boulevard de l'Hôpital, 75013, Paris, France
| | - K Vaezi
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - C V Ventura
- Department of Ophthalmology, Altino Ventura Foundation (FAV), Recife, Brazil.,Department of Ophthalmology, HOPE Eye Hospital, Recife, Brazil
| | - D Vogt
- Department of Ophthalmology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany
| | - J Ambati
- Center for Advanced Vision Science, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, USA
| | - M D de Smet
- Department of Ophthalmology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,MIOS sa, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - A Loewenstein
- Department of Ophthalmology, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center Tel-Aviv, Israel Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
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Tan ACS, Tan GS, Denniston AK, Keane PA, Ang M, Milea D, Chakravarthy U, Cheung CMG. An overview of the clinical applications of optical coherence tomography angiography. Eye (Lond) 2018; 32:262-286. [PMID: 28885606 PMCID: PMC5811700 DOI: 10.1038/eye.2017.181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 117] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2017] [Accepted: 07/15/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) has emerged as a novel, non-invasive imaging modality that allows the detailed study of flow within the vascular structures of the eye. Compared to conventional dye angiography, OCTA can produce more detailed, higher resolution images of the vasculature without the added risk of dye injection. In our review, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this new technology in comparison to conventional dye angiography. We provide an overview of the current OCTA technology available, compare the various commercial OCTA machines technical specifications and discuss some future software improvements. An approach to the interpretation of OCTA images by correlating images to other multimodal imaging with attention to identifying potential artefacts will be outlined and may be useful to ophthalmologists, particularly those who are currently still unfamiliar with this new technology. This review is based on a search of peer-reviewed published papers relevant to OCTA according to our current knowledge, up to January 2017, available on the PubMed database. Currently, many of the published studies have focused on OCTA imaging of the retina, in particular, the use of OCTA in the diagnosis and management of common retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and retinal vascular diseases. In addition, we describe clinical applications for OCTA imaging in inflammatory diseases, optic nerve diseases and anterior segment diseases. This review is based on both the current literature and the clinical experience of our individual authors, with an emphasis on the clinical applications of this imaging technology.
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Affiliation(s)
- A C S Tan
- Singapore National Eye Center, Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore, Singapore
- Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore Singapore
- Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore
| | - G S Tan
- Singapore National Eye Center, Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore, Singapore
- Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore Singapore
- Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore
| | - A K Denniston
- Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospitals of Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK
- Academic Unit of Ophthalmology, Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London, UK
| | - P A Keane
- National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London, UK
| | - M Ang
- Singapore National Eye Center, Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore, Singapore
- Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore Singapore
- Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore
| | - D Milea
- Singapore National Eye Center, Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore, Singapore
- Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore Singapore
- Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore
| | - U Chakravarthy
- Department of Ophthalmology, Queen's University of Belfast, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, Northern Ireland
| | - C M G Cheung
- Singapore National Eye Center, Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore, Singapore
- Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore Singapore
- Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore
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