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Purpose: In the UK, ophthalmology has the highest number of outpatient appointments within the National Health Service. False‐positive referrals from primary care are one of the main factors contributing to the oversubscription of hospital eye services (HESs). We reviewed the accuracy of referrals originating from primary care optometrists and contributing factors, such as condition type and years since registration. Recent findings: Of the 31 studies included in the review, 22 were retrospective analyses of referrals and appointments at the HES. Eight were prospective studies, and one used online clinical vignettes. Seven assessed the accuracy of referrals for all ocular conditions. The remaining studies focused on glaucoma (n = 11), cataracts (n = 7), emergency conditions (n = 4), neovascular age‐related macular degeneration (n = 1) and paediatric binocular vision (n = 1). The diagnostic agreement for suspected emergency ocular conditions was the lowest, with only 21.1% of referrals considered to require urgent attention in one study. For glaucoma, the first‐visit discharge rate was high (16.7%–48%). Optometrist referral accuracy was overall 18.6% higher than General Medical Practitioners'; however, the two mainly referred different ocular conditions. Female optometrists made more false‐positive referrals than males (p = 0.008). The proportion of false positives decreased by 6.2% per year since registration (p < 0.001). Summary: There was significant variation in referral accuracy across different ocular conditions, partly due to differences when defining accurate referrals. Optometrists working in primary care are generally more limited in their resources than the HES. Thus, choosing the cautious option of referral when they are unsure could be in the patients' best interests. The possible effect of increased use of advanced imaging on referrals requires evaluation. Although interventions such as refinement schemes have been put in place, these vary across regions, and their approaches such as virtual referral triaging may reduce unnecessary HES face‐to‐face appointments and promote communication between primary and secondary care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: A vignette study to examine treatment decisions made by UK hospital optometrists in patients with neovascular age‐related macular degeneration (nAMD) and the effect of optometrists' experience on agreement. Methods: Patients with nAMD attending Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, Manchester, UK were identified as potential candidates for the case series of vignettes. The cases were chosen to reflect a varied case‐mix with respect to difficulty as well as ensuring good quality of the images. Each vignette included a history summary consisting of the number of previous injections given and visual acuity measurements at baseline, the previous visit, and the current visit. Images were compiled to show baseline fundus photographs and ocular coherence tomography (OCT) images with the current visit images on which the treatment decision was to be made along with the images from the previous visit. Hospital optometrists were recruited and asked to complete the series of vignettes, deciding if treatment was required at that visit and how confident they felt with that decision. Their responses were compared to the reference standard created by a consensus of consultant ophthalmologists with a sub‐speciality interest in medical retina. Results: Regarding treatment decision for optometrists, the percentage correct value was 75% with the sensitivity being 75.6% (95% CI 70.1–80.3) and the specificity as 75.1% (95% CI 72.1–77.8). No statistically significant difference was found between differing levels of experience. However, there was a significant difference in confidence levels between groups. Potentially sight threatening decisions accounted for 6.4% of the optometrists' decisions, 3.5% were made with a high confidence rating suggesting no discussion with an ophthalmologist was required. Conclusions: Although the optometrists showed modest agreement with the reference standard in a series of cases that have higher than average complexity, the optometrists showed a similar amount of variability within their treatment decisions compared to the reference standard. The optometrists were therefore not inferior in their performance compared to the ophthalmologists and this can be seen as supporting evidence for their extended role within this clinical area. Experience did not have an effect on 'correct' treatment decisions although there was a statistically significant effect on increasing confidence of treatment decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In recent years, there has been widespread investment in imaging technologies by community optometrists in the UK, most notably optical coherence tomography (OCT). The aim of the current study was to determine the value of OCT in the diagnosis of posterior segment diseases in a representative sample of community optometrists using a clinical vignette methodology. Methods: A group of community optometrists (n = 50) initially completed a standardised training package on OCT interpretation followed by a computer‐based assessment featuring 52 clinical vignettes, containing images of healthy (n = 8) or glaucomatous (n = 18) discs or healthy (n = 8) or diseased (n = 18) fundi. Each vignette featured either a single fundus/disc photographic image, or a combination of a fundus/disc image with the corresponding OCT scan. An expert panel confirmed that the fundus images presented alone and those in combination with OCT data were of a similar level of difficulty and that the cases were typical of those seen in primary care. For each case, the optometrist selected their diagnosis from a pull‐down list and reported their confidence in their decision using a 10‐point Likert scale. Pairwise comparisons of the fundus image alone and fundus image/OCT combination were made for both diagnostic performance and confidence. Results: The mean percentage of correct diagnoses using fundus imaging alone was 62% (95% CI 59–64%) and for the combination of fundus image/OCT was 80% (95% CI 77–82%). The mean false negative rate with fundus alone was 27% reducing to 13% with the OCT combination. Median confidence scores for fundus imaging alone was 8.0 (IQR 7.0–8.0) and 8.3 (IQR 8.0–9.0) for the combination. Improvements in performance and confidence were statistically significant (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The results from this vignette study suggests that OCT improves optometrists' diagnostic performance compared to fundus observation alone. These initial results suggest that OCT provides valuable additional data that could augment case‐finding for glaucoma and retinal disease; however, further research is needed to assess its diagnostic performance in a routine clinical practice setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The diagnosis of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), the leading cause of visual impairment in the developed world, relies on the interpretation of various imaging tests of the retina. These include invasive angiographic methods, such as Fundus Fluorescein Angiography (FFA) and, on occasion, Indocyanine-Green Angiography (ICGA). Newer, non-invasive imaging modalities, predominately Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCTA), have drastically transformed the diagnostic approach to nAMD. The aim of this study is to undertake a comprehensive diagnostic accuracy assessment of the various imaging modalities used in clinical practice for the diagnosis of nAMD (OCT, OCTA, FFA and, when a variant of nAMD called Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy is suspected, ICGA) both alone and in various combinations., Methods and Analysis: This is a non-inferiority, prospective, randomised diagnostic accuracy study of 1067 participants. Participants are patients with clinical features consistent with nAMD who present to a National Health Service secondary care ophthalmology unit in the UK. Patients will undergo OCT as per standard practice and those with suspicious features of nAMD on OCT will be approached for participation in the study. Patients who agree to take part will also undergo both OCTA and FFA (and ICGA if indicated). Interpretation of the imaging tests will be undertaken by clinicians at recruitment sites. A randomised design was selected to avoid bias from consecutive review of all imaging tests by the same clinician. The primary outcome of the study will be the difference in sensitivity and specificity between OCT+OCTA and OCT+FFA (±ICGA) for nAMD detection as interpreted by clinicians at recruitment sites., Ethics and Dissemination: The study has been approved by the South Central-Oxford B Research Ethics Committee with reference number 21/SC/0412.Dissemination of study results will involve peer-review publications, presentations at major national and international scientific conferences., Trial Registration Number: ISRCTN18313457., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.)

Objective: Implementing teleophthalmology into the optometric referral pathway may ease the current pressures on hospital eye services caused by over-referrals from some optometrists. This study aimed to understand the practical implications of implementing teleophthalmology by analysing lived experiences and perceptions of teleophthalmology in the optometric referral pathway for suspected retinal conditions., Design: Qualitative in-depth interview study SETTING: Fourteen primary care optometry practices and four secondary care hospital eye services from four NHS Foundation Trusts across the UK., Participants: We interviewed 41 participants: patients (17), optometrists (18), and ophthalmologists (6) who were involved in the HERMES study. Through thematic analysis, we collated and present their experiences of implementing teleophthalmology., Results: All participants interviewed were positive towards teleophthalmology as it could enable efficiencies in the referral pathway and improve feedback and communication between patients and healthcare professionals. Concerns included setup costs for optometrists and anxieties from patients about not seeing an ophthalmologist face to face. However, reducing unnecessary visits and increasing the availability of resources and capacity were seen as significant benefits., Conclusions: Overall, we report positive experiences of implementing teleophthalmology into the optometric referral pathway for suspected retinal conditions. Successful implementation will require appropriate investment to set up and integrate new technology and remunerate services, and continued evaluation to ensure timely feedback to patients and between healthcare professionals is received., Trial Registration Number: ISRCTN18106677., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.)

Introduction: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is one of the most common genetic disorders in the UK, with over 15 000 people affected. Proliferative sickle cell retinopathy (SCR) is a well-described complication of SCD and can result in significant sight loss, although the prevalence in the UK is not currently known. There are currently no national screening guidelines for SCR, with wide variations in the management of the condition across the UK., Methods and Analysis: The Sickle Eye Project is an epidemiological, cross-sectional, non-interventional study to determine the prevalence of visual impairment due to SCR and/or maculopathy in the UK. Haematologists in at least 16 geographically dispersed hospitals in the UK linked to participating eye clinics will offer study participation to consecutive patients meeting the inclusion criteria attending the sickle cell clinic. The following study procedures will be performed: (a) best corrected visual acuity with habitual correction and pinhole, (b) dilated slit lamp biomicroscopy and funduscopy, (c) optical coherence tomography (OCT), (d) OCT angiography where available, (e) ultrawide fundus photography, (f) National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire-25 and (g) acceptability of retinal screening questionnaire. The primary outcome is the proportion of people with SCD with visual impairment defined as logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution ≥0.3 in at least one eye. Secondary outcomes include the prevalence of each stage of SCR and presence of maculopathy by age and genotype; correlation of stage of SCR and maculopathy to severity of SCD; the impact of SCR and presence of maculopathy on vision-related quality of life; and the acceptability to patients of routine retinal imaging for SCR and maculopathy., Ethics and Dissemination: Ethical approval was obtained from the South Central-Oxford A Research Ethics Committee (REC 23/SC/0363). Findings will be reported through academic journals in ophthalmology and haematology., Competing Interests: Competing interests: CD reports receiving institutional research grant, consulting fees and speaker fees from Roche. KB and JT have received consulting and speaker fees from Roche., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.)

Background/objectives: This study aims to describe the grading methods and baseline characteristics for UK Biobank (UKBB) participants who underwent retinal imaging in 2009-2010, and to characterise individuals with retinal features suggestive of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma and retinopathy., Methods: Non-mydriatic colour fundus photographs and macular optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans were manually graded by Central Administrative Research Facility certified graders and quality assured by clinicians of the Network of Ophthalmic Reading Centres UK. Captured retinal features included those associated with AMD (≥1 drusen, pigmentary changes, geographic atrophy or exudative AMD; either imaging modality), glaucoma (≥0.7 cup-disc ratio, ≥0.2 cup-disc ratio difference between eyes, other abnormal disc features; photographs only) and retinopathy (characteristic features of diabetic retinopathy with or without microaneurysms; either imaging modality). Suspected cases of these conditions were characterised with reference to diagnostic records, physical and biochemical measurements., Results: Among 68,514 UKBB participants who underwent retinal imaging, the mean age was 57.3 years (standard deviation 8.2), 45.7% were men and 90.6% were of White ethnicity. A total of 64,367 participants had gradable colour fundus photographs and 68,281 had gradable OCT scans in at least one eye. Retinal features suggestive of AMD and glaucoma were identified in 15,176 and 2184 participants, of whom 125 (0.8%) and 188 (8.6%), respectively, had a recorded diagnosis. Of 264 participants identified to have retinopathy with microaneurysms, 251 (95.1%) had either diabetes or hypertension., Conclusions: This dataset represents a valuable addition to what is currently available in UKBB, providing important insights to both ocular and systemic health., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels and retinal sub-layer thicknesses in people with and without diabetes., Methods: We included 41,453 UK Biobank participants aged 40 to 69 years old. Diabetes status was defined by self-report of diagnosis or use of insulin. Participants were categorized into groups: (1) those with HbA1c <48 mmol/mol were subdivided into quintiles according to normal range of HbA1c; (2) those previously diagnosed with diabetes with no evidence of diabetic retinopathy; and (3) undiagnosed diabetes: >48 mmol/mol. Total macular and retinal sub-layer thicknesses were derived from spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) images. Multivariable linear regression was used to evaluate the associations between diabetes status and retinal layer thickness., Results: Compared with participants in the second quintile of the normal HbA1c range, those in the fifth quintile had a thinner photoreceptor layer thickness (-0.33 µm, P = 0.006). Participants with diagnosed diabetes had a thinner macular retinal nerve fiber layer (mRNFL; -0.58 µm, P < 0.001), photoreceptor layer thickness (-0.94 µm, P < 0.001), and total macular thickness (-1.61 µm, P < 0.001), whereas undiagnosed diabetes participants had a reduced photoreceptor layer thickness (-1.22 µm, P = 0.009) and total macular thickness (-2.26 µm, P = 0.005). Compared to participants without diabetes, those with diabetes had a thinner mRNFL (-0.50 µm, P < 0.001), photoreceptor layer thickness (-0.77 µm, P < 0.001), and total macular thickness (-1.36 µm, P < 0.001)., Conclusions: Participants with higher HbA1c in the normal range had marginally thinner photoreceptor thickness, whereas those with diabetes (including undiagnosed diabetes) had meaningfully thinner retinal sublayer and total macular thickness., Translational Relevance: We showed that early retinal neurodegeneration occurs in people whose HbA1c levels are below the current diabetes diagnostic threshold; this might impact the management of pre-diabetes individuals.

Aim: To examine the associations of air pollution with both self-reported age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and in vivo measures of retinal sublayer thicknesses., Methods: We included 115 954 UK Biobank participants aged 40-69 years old in this cross-sectional study. Ambient air pollution measures included particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) and nitrogen oxides (NO x ). Participants with self-reported ocular conditions, high refractive error (< -6 or > +6 diopters) and poor spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) image were excluded. Self-reported AMD was used to identify overt disease. SD-OCT imaging derived photoreceptor sublayer thickness and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) layer thickness were used as structural biomarkers of AMD for 52 602 participants. We examined the associations of ambient air pollution with self-reported AMD and both photoreceptor sublayers and RPE layer thicknesses., Results: After adjusting for covariates, people who were exposed to higher fine ambient particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter <2.5 µm (PM 2.5 , per IQR increase) had higher odds of self-reported AMD (OR=1.08, p=0.036), thinner photoreceptor synaptic region (β=-0.16 µm, p=2.0 × 10 -5 ), thicker photoreceptor inner segment layer (β=0.04 µm, p=0.001) and thinner RPE (β=-0.13 µm, p=0.002). Higher levels of PM 2.5 absorbance and NO 2 were associated with thicker photoreceptor inner and outer segment layers, and a thinner RPE layer. Higher levels of PM 10 (PM with an aerodynamic diameter <10 µm) was associated with thicker photoreceptor outer segment and thinner RPE, while higher exposure to NO x was associated with thinner photoreceptor synaptic region., Conclusion: Greater exposure to PM 2.5 was associated with self-reported AMD, while PM 2.5 , PM 2.5 absorbance, PM 10 , NO 2 and NO x were all associated with differences in retinal layer thickness., Competing Interests: Competing interests: CR reports employment by Topcon Healthcare Solutions, Inc, outside the submitted work. PJF reports personal fees from Allergan, Carl Zeiss, Google/DeepMind and Santen, a grant from Alcon, outside the submitted work. PJP reports grants from Topcon Inc, outside the submitted work., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background/aims: Prospective data on switching anti-vascular endothelial growth factors in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) who have previously shown no/partial response are limited. This prospective study assessed the effect of switching from aflibercept to ranibizumab on anatomical and functional outcomes in patients with persistent/recurrent disease activity., Methods: SAFARI (NCT02161575) was a 6-month, prospective, single-arm study conducted in the UK and Germany. Patients, meeting strict eligibility criteria for one of two subgroups (primary treatment failure or suboptimal treatment response), received 3 monthly intravitreal ranibizumab injections (0.5 mg). Thereafter, ranibizumab was administered pro re nata at monthly visits. The primary endpoint was change from baseline (CfB) to day 90 in central subfield retinal thickness (CSRT). Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and retinal morphology parameters were assessed., Results: One hundred patients were enrolled (primary treatment failure, 1; suboptimal treatment response, 99). In the overall population, there was a significant CfB in median CSRT of -30.75 µm (95% CI -59.50,-20.50; p<0.0001) to day 90. Improvements were also observed in other quantitative and qualitative optical coherence tomography parameters. In Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study letters assessed by category, 55% and 59% of patients gained 0-≥15 letters versus baseline at day 90 and day 180, respectively. However, mean improvements in BCVA (CfB) to each time point were small (≤2 letters). No new safety signals were identified., Conclusion: Switching from aflibercept to ranibizumab led to a significant improvement in CSRT, with ~60% experiencing stabilised/improved BCVA. Therefore, patients with nAMD who have shown a suboptimal response to aflibercept may benefit from switching to ranibizumab., Competing Interests: Competing interests: RPG: consultancy, educational grants and institutional research grants for Novartis and Bayer; IP: speakers’ fees, consulting fees and travel support from Novartis and Bayer; NE: grant/research support from Novartis and Bayer; speakers’ honoraria from: Novartis, Bayer, Allergan and Heidelberg Engineering; Advisory board member for: Novartis, Bayer, Allergan, Bausch and Lomb, Alimera Sciences and Roche; consultancy fees from Bayer; FG: consultant for Novartis and Bayer; advisory board member for Novartis and Bayer; speakers’ fees and research support from Bayer; FGH: financial support from: Acucela, Allergan, Bayer, Bioeq, CenterVue, Hoffmann-La Roche/Genentech, Heidelberg Engineering, Novartis, and Zeiss; Consultant for Acucela, Alcon, Bayer, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Hoffmann-La Roche/Genentech, Grayburg Vision, Heidelberg Engineering, Lin Bioscience, Novartis, Stealth Biotherapeutics, and Zeiss; SS-V: financial support from: Acucela, Alcon/Novartis, Allergan, Bayer, Bioeq/Formycon, Carl Zeiss MedicTec, CenterVue, Hoffman-La Roche/Genentech, Heidelberg Engineering, Katairo and Optos; consultant for: Alcon/Novartis, Bioeq/Formycon and Galimedix Therapeutics; recipient of gifts, honoraria, travel reimbursement, patent royalties and/or any other financial compensation from: Alcon/Novartis, Allergan, Bayer, Carl Zeiss MedicTec and Hoffmann-La Roche/Genentech; KB: travel grants and speakers’ fees from: Novartis, Bayer, Alimera, Topcon and Heidelberg Engineering; research grants from Novartis and Bayer; BJLB: advisory board and international conference attendance sponsored by Novartis and Bayer; SD: principal investigator on trials sponsored by: Novartis, Bayer, Roche, and Ely Lilly; speakers’ honoraria from: Novartis, Bayer, Roche and/or Eli Lilly; conference and travel support from Novartis and Eli Lilly; consultant for Hakko Kyowa and Circadian Therapeutics; grant/research support from Novartis; HE: travel grants and speakers’ fees from Novartis; advisory board member for Novartis; SG: speakers’ fees from Hoffman-La Roche and Novartis; advisory board member for, and travel grants from Bayer; DFG: travel grants from Novartis and Bayer; speakers’ fees from Novartis; RH: research support and travel grants from, and advisory board member for Novartis, Bayer, Allergan, and Ellex; AL: travel support to attend educational meetings from Bayer; NP: grant support and travel grants from Novartis and Bayer; PP: none declared; CS: speakers’ fees, consulting fees, conference and travel support from Novartis and Bayer; ST: travel grant and conference registration from Bayer; DV: travel grants from Novartis, Bayer and Allergan; Advisory board member for: Allergan, Novartis, Bayer, Alcon and Polyphotonix; investigator on clinical trials sponsored or funded by: Novartis, Bayer, Hoffmann-La Roche and Allergan; Speakers’ fees from Bayer and Novartis; GW: advisory board member for, and support to attend conferences from Novartis and Bayer; MAW: travel grants from Novartis, Bayer and Allergan; recipient of grant to develop medical education material on ophthalmology; AW: consulting fees from Novartis and Bayer; speakers’ fees from Novartis; advisory board member for Novartis; travel grants from Bayer; research support from Novartis and Bayer; RHZ: none declared; FI: employee of Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK Ltd; FA: employee of Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK Ltd., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Hospital Eye Services (HES) in the UK face an increasing number of optometric referrals driven by progress in retinal imaging. The National Health Service (NHS) published a 10-year strategy (NHS Long-Term Plan) to transform services to meet this challenge. In this study, we implemented a cloud-based referral platform to improve communication between optometrists and ophthalmologists., Methods: Retrospective cohort study conducted at Moorfields Eye Hospital, Croydon (NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK). Patients classified into the HES referral pathway by contributing optometrists have been included into this study. Main outcome measures was the reduction of unnecessary referrals., Results: After reviewing the patient's data in a web-based interface 54 (52%) out of 103 attending patients initially classified into the referral pathway did not need a specialist referral. Fourteen (14%) patients needing urgent treatment were identified. Usability was measured in duration for data input and reviewing which was an average of 9.2 min (median: 5.4; IQR: 3.4-8.7) for optometrists and 3.0 min (median: 3.0; IQR: 1.7-3.9) min for ophthalmologists. A variety of diagnosis was covered by this tool with dry age-related macular degeneration (n=34) being most common., Conclusion: After implementation more than half of the HES referrals have been avoided. This platform offers a digital-first solution that enables rapid-access eye care for patients in community optometrists, facilitates communication between healthcare providers and may serve as a foundation for implementation of artificial intelligence., Competing Interests: Competing interests: KB reports grants from Bayer AG, personal fees from Alimera, from Allergan, outside the submitted work; PAK reports other from Big Picture Eye Health, during the conduct of the study; personal fees from DeepMind, personal fees from Optos, personal fees from Novartis, personal fees from Bayer, personal fees from Allergan, personal fees from Heidelberg Engineering, personal fees from Topcon, personal fees from Carl Zeiss Meditec, personal fees from Haag Streit, personal fees from Santen, grants from National Institute for Health Research, grants from Fight For Sight UK, outside the submitted work; TM reports other from Big Picture Medical, outside the submitted work; In addition, TM has a patent 2016265973 pending; KK reports personal fees from Big Picture Eye Health, during the conduct of the study; grants and personal fees from Novartis Pharma, grants and personal fees from Bayer Pharma, personal fees from Zeiss, personal fees from Allergan, personal fees from Alcon, personal fees from Google Deepmind, AD has nothing to disclose; outside the submitted work; DS reports other from Big Picture Eye Health, during the conduct of the study; personal fees from Allergan, personal fees from Novartis, personal fees from Bayer, personal fees from Big Picture Eye Health, personal fees from Haag Streit, outside the submitted work; no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT) provides high resolution images enabling identification of individual retinal layers. We included 32,923 participants aged 40-69 years old from UK Biobank. Questionnaires, physical examination, and eye examination including SD-OCT imaging were performed. SD OCT measured photoreceptor layer thickness includes photoreceptor layer thickness: inner nuclear layer-retinal pigment epithelium (INL-RPE) and the specific sublayers of the photoreceptor: inner nuclear layer-external limiting membrane (INL-ELM); external limiting membrane-inner segment outer segment (ELM-ISOS); and inner segment outer segment-retinal pigment epithelium (ISOS-RPE). In multivariate regression models, the total average INL-RPE was observed to be thinner in older aged, females, Black ethnicity, smokers, participants with higher systolic blood pressure, more negative refractive error, lower IOPcc and lower corneal hysteresis. The overall INL-ELM, ELM-ISOS and ISOS-RPE thickness was significantly associated with sex and race. Total average of INL-ELM thickness was additionally associated with age and refractive error, while ELM-ISOS was additionally associated with age, smoking status, SBP and refractive error; and ISOS-RPE was additionally associated with smoking status, IOPcc and corneal hysteresis. Hence, we found novel associations of ethnicity, smoking, systolic blood pressure, refraction, IOP cc and corneal hysteresis with photoreceptor thickness.

Purpose: Demographic changes as well as increasing referral rates from national screening services put pressure on available ophthalmologic resources in the United Kingdom. To improve resource allocation, virtual medical retina clinics were introduced in 2016 in Moorfields Eye Hospital, South Division. The scope of this work was to assess clinical outcomes of patients followed up in a virtual clinic setting., Design: Retrospective database study., Participants: Patients booked for a consecutive appointment in our virtual medical retina clinic., Methods: Seven hundred twenty-eight patients booked for their second virtual clinic appointment in a tertiary eye care referral center between November 2016 and July 2018 were identified retrospectively from our electronic health records and patient administration systems. Information about disease grade and clinical and visual outcomes was assessed., Main Outcome Measures: Clinical outcome of the virtual clinic visit, including virtual follow-up, urgent referral to face-to-face clinic, or discharge., Results: Seven hundred twelve of 728 patients received a clinical outcome. Four hundred ninety-seven patients (70%) were eligible for further virtual follow-up after the second virtual clinic visit, whereas 15% each (107 and 108 patients) were either discharged or referred to a face-to-face clinic. In total, 661 patients attended their appointments in person and were reviewed by trained staff. Seventeen patients were referred for urgent treatment and 8 patients were not suitable for virtual follow-up. In 542 (82%) of all patients, diabetic retinopathy was the most common diagnosis., Conclusions: This study reports clinical outcomes of a virtual model of care for medical retina clinics that imply safety of patient care in this clinic setting. This clinic format optimizes the use of already available resources and increases the skills of our existing workforce while maintaining high-quality clinical standards., (Copyright © 2019 American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The increasing incidence of medical retinal diseases has created capacity issues across UK. In this study, we describe the implementation and outcomes of virtual medical retina clinics (VMRCs) at Moorfields Eye Hospital, South Division, London. It represents a promising solution to ensure that patients are seen and treated in a timely fashion METHODS: First attendances in the VMRC (September 2016-May 2017) were included. It was open to non-urgent external referrals and to existing patients in a face-to-face clinic (F2FC). All patients received visual acuity testing, dilated fundus photography and optical coherence tomography scans. Grading was performed by consultants, fellows and allied healthcare professionals. Outcomes of these virtual consultations and reasons for F2FC referrals were assessed., Results: A total number of 1729 patients were included (1543 were internal and 186 external referrals). The majority were diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy (75.1% of internal and 46.8% of external referrals). Of the internal referrals, 14.6% were discharged, 54.5% continued in VMRC and 30.9% were brought to a F2FC. Of the external referrals, 45.5% were discharged, 37.1% continued in VMRC and 17.4% were brought to a F2FC. The main reason for F2FC referrals was image quality (34.7%), followed by detection of potentially treatable disease (20.2%)., Conclusion: VMRC can be implemented successfully using existing resources within a hospital eye service. It may also serve as a first-line rapid-access clinic for low-risk referrals. This would enable medical retinal services to cope with increasing demand and efficiently allocate resources to those who require treatment., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.)