Evaluating Access to Laser Eye Surgery by Driving Times Using Medicare Data and Geographical Mapping.

Importance: Recently, several states have granted optometrists privileges to perform select laser procedures (laser peripheral iridotomy, selective laser trabeculoplasty, and YAG laser capsulotomy) with the aim of increasing access. However, whether these changes are associated with increased access to these procedures among each state's Medicare population has not been evaluated. Objective: To compare patient access to laser surgery eye care by estimated travel time and 30-minute proximity to an optometrist or ophthalmologist. Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective cohort database study used Medicare Part B claims data from 2016 through 2020 for patients accessing new patient or laser eye care (laser peripheral iridotomy, selective laser trabeculoplasty, YAG) from optometrists or ophthalmologists in Oklahoma, Kentucky, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Missouri. Analysis took place between December 2021 and March 2023. Main Outcome and Measures: Percentage of each state's Medicare population within a 30-minute travel time (isochrone) of an optometrist or ophthalmologist based on US census block group population and estimated travel time from patient to health care professional. Results: The analytic cohort consisted of 1 564 307 individual claims. Isochrones show that optometrists performing laser eye surgery cover a geographic area similar to that covered by ophthalmologists. Less than 5% of the population had only optometrists (no ophthalmologists) within a 30-minute drive in every state except for Oklahoma for YAG (301 470 [7.6%]) and selective laser trabeculoplasty (371 097 [9.4%]). Patients had a longer travel time to receive all laser procedures from optometrists than ophthalmologists in Kentucky: the shortest median (IQR) drive time for an optometrist-performed procedure was 49.0 (18.4-71.7) minutes for YAG, and the the longest median (IQR) drive time for an ophthalmologist-performed procedure was 22.8 (12.1-41.4) minutes, also for YAG. The median (IQR) driving time for YAG in Oklahoma was 26.6 (12.2-56.9) for optometrists vs 22.0 (11.2-40.8) minutes for ophthalmologists, and in Arkansas it was 90.0 (16.2-93.2) for optometrists vs 26.5 (11.8-51.6) minutes for ophthalmologists. In Louisiana, the longest median (IQR) travel time to receive laser procedures from optometrists was for YAG at 18.5 (7.6-32.6) minutes and the shortest drive to receive procedures from ophthalmologists was for YAG at 20.5 (11.7-39.7) minutes. Conclusions and Relevance: Although this study did not assess impact on quality of care, expansion of laser eye surgery privileges to optometrists was not found to lead to shorter travel times to receive care or to a meaningful increase in the percentage of the population with nearby health care professionals.

Consensus Statement on Visual Rehabilitation in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Optometric visual rehabilitation therapy has been used for a variety of visual disorders. Descriptively named entities such as posttrauma visual syndrome, visual midline shift syndrome, and vertical heterophoria syndrome are frequently diagnosed by neuro-optometrists and/or behavioral optometrists in patients after stroke or head injury or in the setting of dizziness and/or headache. The scientific underpinnings of these diagnoses and treatments are weak, and published clinical studies comprise case reports and case series without comparison to control populations. Neuro-ophthalmologists are frequently questioned by patients about the utility of such treatment strategies. Many ophthalmologists and neurologists also are involved in the care of patients who carry these diagnoses and undergo these visual therapies. Involved physicians may benefit from guidance about the rationale, evidence, and level of evidence for the efficacy of these therapeutic approaches.

Surveillance of long-term complications after treatment of adult brain tumor survivors-review and evidence-based recommendations.

As a result of treatment and diagnosis, adults with primary or metastatic brain tumors experience comorbidities that impacts their health and well-being. The Children's Oncology Group has guideline recommendations for childhood survivors of brain tumors; however, guidelines for monitoring long-term sequela among adult brain tumor survivors are lacking. The purpose of this review is to present the screening recommendations for the long-term complications after brain tumor treatment from a multidisciplinary panel of healthcare professionals. Chronic complications identified include cognitive dysfunction, vasculopathy, endocrinopathy, ophthalmic, ototoxicity, physical disability, sleep disturbance, mood disorder, unemployment, financial toxicity, and secondary malignancy. We invited specialists across disciplines to perform a literature search and provide expert recommendations for surveillance for long-term complications for adult brain tumor survivors. The Brain Tumor Center Survivorship Committee recommends routine screening using laboratory testing, subjective assessment of symptoms, and objective evaluations to appropriately monitor the complications of brain tumor treatments. Effective monitoring and treatment should involve collaboration with primary care providers and may require referral to other specialties and support services to provide patient-centered care during neuro-oncology survivorship. Further research is necessary to document the incidence and prevalence of medical complications as well as evaluate the efficacy of screening and neuro-oncology survivorship programs.

Longitudinal Changes in Hearing and Visual Impairments and Risk of Dementia in Older Adults in the United States.

Importance: Hearing and vision problems are individually associated with increased dementia risk, but the impact of having concurrent hearing and vision deficits, ie, dual sensory impairment (DSI), on risk of dementia, including its major subtypes Alzheimer disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD), is not well known. Objective: To evaluate whether DSI is associated with incident dementia in older adults. Design, Setting, and Participants: This prospective cohort study from the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) was conducted between 1992 and 1999, with as many as 8 years of follow-up. The multicenter, population-based sample was recruited from Medicare eligibility files in 4 US communities with academic medical centers. Of 5888 participants aged 65 years and older in CHS, 3602 underwent cranial magnetic resonance imaging and completed the modified Mini-Mental State Examination in 1992 to 1994 as part of the CHS Cognition Study. A total of 227 participants were excluded due to prevalent dementia, leaving a total of 3375 participants without dementia at study baseline. The study hypothesis was that DSI would be associated with increased risk of dementia compared with no sensory impairment. The association between the duration of DSI with risk of dementia was also evaluated. Data analysis was conducted from November 2019 to February 2020. Exposures: Hearing and vision impairments were collected via self-report at baseline and as many as 5 follow-up visits. Main Outcomes and Measures: All-cause dementia, AD, and VaD, classified by a multidisciplinary committee using standardized criteria. Results: A total of 2927 participants with information on hearing and vision at all available study visits were included in the analysis (mean [SD] age, 74.6 [4.8] years; 1704 [58.2%] women; 455 [15.5%] African American or Black; 2472 [85.5%] White). Compared with no sensory impairment, DSI was associated with increased risk of all-cause dementia (hazard ratio [HR], 2.60; 95% CI, 1.66-2.06; P < .001), AD (HR, 3.67; 95% CI, 2.04-6.60; P < .001) but not VaD (HR, 2.03; 95% CI, 1.00-4.09; P = .05). Conclusions and Relevance: In this cohort study, DSI was associated with increased risk of dementia, particularly AD. Evaluation of hearing and vision in older adults may help to identify those at high risk of developing dementia.

Factors Affecting Ophthalmology Resident Choice to Pursue Neuro-Ophthalmology Fellowship Training.

BACKGROUND: The number of ophthalmology-trained residents applying to neuro-ophthalmology fellowships has not increased despite a trend toward seeking fellowship training after residency. This study sought to identify factors affecting the choice to pursue or not pursue neuro-ophthalmology fellowship training by graduating ophthalmology residents and recently graduated neuro-ophthalmology fellows. METHODS: An anonymous survey was sent to Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology residency directors to distribute to post-graduate Year 4 (PGY4) ophthalmology residents graduating in either 2018 or 2019. A second anonymous survey was distributed via the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society (NANOS) Young Neuro-Ophthalmologists listserv to ophthalmology-trained neuro-ophthalmology fellows. A total of 147 respondents, including 96 PGY4 ophthalmology residents not going into neuro-ophthalmology and 51 practicing neuro-ophthalmologists are included. RESULTS: The most common reasons for residents to choose to not pursue further training in neuro-ophthalmology included a stronger interest in other fields, types of patients seen, no intraocular surgery, and the assumption that it is a nonsurgical discipline. The leading factors influencing graduated, ophthalmology-trained fellows to choose neuro-ophthalmology included interest in the clinical diseases treated, interaction with other specialty fields, and a supportive NANOS culture. Interestingly, despite perceptions of graduating residents, two-thirds of the neuro-ophthalmologists surveyed perform surgery. There were no differences between the 2 groups with respect to the degree of exposure to neuro-ophthalmology in medical school, presence of a dedicated neuro-ophthalmology rotation in residency, or timing of the rotation. CONCLUSIONS: There are a variety of factors influencing decisions regarding pursuing neuro-ophthalmology fellowship among ophthalmology residents. The perceived lack of surgical opportunities in neuro-ophthalmology is a deterrent for many. However, a significant number of neuro-ophthalmologists continue to perform surgery, including intraocular surgery. Repeated exposure later in residency may provide an opportunity to reconsider the field and to re-emphasize opportunities to remain surgically involved as a neuro-ophthalmologist. Exposure to the practice patterns of recently graduated neuro-ophthalmologists offers residents in training excellent exposure to the contemporary practice of neuro-ophthalmology. Hence, ensuring trainees receive a balanced exposure to practicing neuro-ophthalmologists across the spectrum of seniority and scope of practice may promote greater interest among ophthalmology residents to pursue a career in neuro-ophthalmology.

Spontaneous retrobulbar hemorrhage in the setting of warfarin therapy and latent scurvy diagnosis.

We present a case of spontaneous nontraumatic retrobulbar hemorrhage associated with anti-coagulation therapy and a new diagnosis of scurvy. A 68-year-old male on chronic anti-coagulation therapy presented with a retrobulbar hemorrhage requiring urgent canthotomy and cantholysis. Despite the absence of a supratherapeutic INR and normal clotting factors, the patient continued to have spontaneous hemorrhages within the orbit and elsewhere. Workup revealed a severe vitamin C deficiency consistent with scurvy. Further investigation of dietary history demonstrated an avoidance of all citrus fruit upon starting warfarin due to misunderstanding in medication counseling on avoidance of grapefruit. With repletion of vitamin C and further medication counseling, the patient had no further episodes of spontaneous hemorrhage.

Ophthalmic conditions associated with dementia risk: The Cardiovascular Health Study.

INTRODUCTION: Ophthalmic conditions and dementia appear to overlap and may share common pathways, but research has not differentiated dementia subtypes. METHODS: Diagnoses of cataracts, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy (DR), and glaucoma were based on medical histories and International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes for 3375 participants from the Cardiovascular Health Study. Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD), was classified using standardized research criteria. RESULTS: Cataracts were associated with AD (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.34; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.01-1.80) and VaD/mixed dementia (HR = 1.41; 95% CI = 1.02-1.95). AMD was associated with AD only (HR = 1.87; 95% CI = 1.13-3.09), whereas DR was associated with VaD/mixed dementia only (HR = 2.63; 95% CI = 1.10-6.27). DISCUSSION: Differential associations between specific ophthalmic conditions and dementia subtypes may elucidate pathophysiologic pathways. Lack of association between glaucoma and dementia was most surprising from these analyses.

Inefficiencies in Residency Matching Associated with Gale-Shapley Algorithms.

Purpose: To investigate emerging trends and increasing costs in the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) and San Francisco Residency and Fellowship Match Services (SF Match) associated with the current applicant/program Gale-Shapley-type matching algorithms. Design: A longitudinal observational study of behavioral trends in national residency matching systems with modeling of match results with alternative parameters. Methods: We analyzed publicly available data from the SF Match and NRMP websites from 1985 to 2020 for trends in the total number of applicants and available positions, as well the average number of applications and interviews per applicant for multiple specialties. To understand these trends and the algorithms' effect on the residency programs and applicants, we analyzed anonymized rank list and match data for ophthalmology from the SF Match between 2011 to 2019. Match results using current match parameters, as well as under conditions in which applicant and/or program rank lists were truncated, were analyzed. Results: Both the number of applications and length of programs' rank lists have increased steadily throughout residency programs, particularly those with competitive specialities. Capping student rank lists at 7 programs, or less than 80% of the average 8.9 programs currently ranked, results in a 0.71% decrease in the total number of positions filled. Similarly, capping program rank lists at 7 applicants per spot, or less than 60% of the average 11.5 applicants ranked per spot, results in a 5% decrease in the total number of positions filled. Conclusion: While the number of ophthalmology positions in the US has increased only modestly, the number of applications under consideration has increased substantially over the past two decades. The current study suggests that both programs and applicants rank more choices than are required for a nearly-complete and stable match, creating excess cost and work for both applicants and programs. "Stable-marriage"-type algorithms induce applicants and programs to rank as many counter-parties as possible to maximize individual chances of optimizing the match.

Dual sensory impairment in older adults and risk of dementia from the GEM Study.

INTRODUCTION: Hearing and vision loss are independently associated with dementia, but the impact of dual sensory impairment (DSI) on dementia risk is not well understood. METHODS: Self-reported measures of hearing and vision were taken from 2051 participants at baseline from the Gingko Evaluation of Memory Study. Dementia status was ascertained using standardized criteria. Cox models were used to estimate risk of dementia associated with number of sensory impairments (none, one, or two). RESULTS: DSI was significantly associated with higher risk of all-cause dementia (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.86; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.25-2.76) and Alzheimer's disease (HR = 2.12; 95% CI = 1.34-3.36). Individually only visual impairment was independently associated with an increased risk of all-cause dementia (HR = 1.32; 95% CI = 1.02-1.71). DISCUSSION: Older adults with DSI are at a significantly increased risk for dementia. Further studies are needed to evaluate whether treatments can modify this risk.

Presentation and Progression of Papilledema in Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis.

PURPOSE: To determine the natural history and visual outcomes of papilledema in cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST). DESIGN: Retrospective observational case series. METHODS: This multicenter study included 7 tertiary care neuro-ophthalmology clinics. Sixty-five patients with CVST were identified who received serial eye examinations with documented papilledema from 2008-2016. Outcome measures included time from diagnosis to papilledema documentation, papilledema progression, time to papilledema resolution, treatment interventions and final visual outcomes. RESULTS: Papilledema was present on initial presentation in 54% of patients or detected later during the course of the disease in 46% of patients. The average time from CVST diagnosis to papilledema documentation was 29 days with a mean (SD) initial Frisén grade of 2.7 (1.3). In 21.5% of cases, papilledema progressed over an average of 55.6 (56.6) days. Time to papilledema resolution was approximately 6 months. Final visual acuity ranged from 20/20 to light perception, with 40% of patients having residual visual field defects on standard automated perimetry. Frisén grade ≥3 (odds ratio [OR] 10.21, P < .0053) and cases with worsening papilledema (3.5, P < .043) were associated with permanent visual field deficits. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicates the importance of serial ophthalmic evaluation in all cases of CVST. Follow-up fundoscopy is critical given that a subset of cases can show delayed onset and/or worsening of papilledema with time. Specifically, we recommend an ophthalmic examination at the time of initial diagnosis, with repeat examination within a few weeks and further follow-up depending on the level of papilledema or vision changes.

Retrospective, Multicenter Comparison of the Clinical Presentation of Patients Presenting With Diplopia From Giant Cell Arteritis vs Other Causes.

BACKGROUND: Although giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a well-known cause of transient and permanent vision loss, diplopia as a presenting symptom of this condition is uncommon. We compared symptoms and signs of patients presenting with diplopia from GCA to those from other causes. METHODS: This was a multicenter, retrospective study comparing the clinical characteristics of patients presenting with diplopia from GCA with age-matched controls. Demographic information, review of symptoms, ophthalmic examination, and laboratory data of biopsy-proven patients with GCA were compared with those of age-matched controls presenting with diplopia. RESULTS: A total of 27 patients presented with diplopia from GCA, 19 with constant diplopia, and 8 with transient diplopia. All patients with constant diplopia from GCA were matched with 67 control subjects who had diplopia from other etiologies. Patients with GCA were more likely to describe other accompanying visual symptoms (58% vs 25%, P = 0.008), a greater number of systemic GCA symptoms (3.5, GCA vs 0.6, controls, P < 0.001) such as headache (94% [17/18] vs 39% [23/67]; P < 0.001), jaw claudication (80% [12/15] vs 0% [0/36]; P < 0.001), and scalp tenderness (44% [7/16] vs 7% [3/43]; P < 0.001). Ocular ischemic lesions (26% vs 1%, P < 0.001) were also common in patients with diplopia from GCA. Inflammatory markers were elevated significantly in patients with GCA vs controls (erythrocyte sedimentation rate: 91% [10/11] vs 12% [3/25], P < 0.001; C-reactive protein: 89% [8/9] vs 11% [2/19], P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: GCA is a rare but serious cause of diplopia among older adults and must be differentiated from other more common benign etiologies. Our study suggests that most patients with diplopia from GCA have concerning systemic symptoms and/or elevated inflammatory markers that should trigger further work-up. Moreover, careful ophthalmoscopic examination should be performed to look for presence of ocular ischemic lesions in older patients presenting with acute diplopia.