Cost-effectiveness of virtual reality and wet laboratory cataract surgery simulation.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of phacoemulsification simulation training in virtual reality simulator and wet laboratory on operating theater performance. METHODS: Residents were randomized to a combination of virtual reality and wet laboratory phacoemulsification or wet laboratory phacoemulsification. A reference control group consisted of trainees who had wet laboratory training without phacoemulsification. All trainees were assessed on operating theater performance in 3 sequential cataract patients. International Council of Ophthalmology Surgical Competency Assessment Rubric-phacoemulsification (ICO OSCAR phaco) scores by 2 masked independent graders and cost data were used to determine the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). A decision model was constructed to indicate the most cost-effective simulation training strategy based on the willingness to pay (WTP) per ICO OSCAR phaco score gained. RESULTS: Twenty-two trainees who performed phacoemulsification in 66 patients were analyzed. Trainees who had additional virtual reality simulation achieved higher mean ICO OSCAR phaco scores compared with trainees who had wet laboratory phacoemulsification and control (49.5 ± standard deviation [SD] 9.8 vs 39.0 ± 15.8 vs 32.5 ± 12.1, P < .001). Compared with the control group, ICER per ICO OSCAR phaco of wet laboratory phacoemulsification was $13,473 for capital cost and $2209 for recurring cost. Compared with wet laboratory phacoemulsification, ICER per ICO OSCAR phaco of additional virtual reality simulator training was US $23,778 for capital cost and $1879 for recurring cost. The threshold WTP values per ICO OSCAR phaco score for combined virtual reality simulator and wet laboratory phacoemulsification to be most cost-effective was $22,500 for capital cost and $1850 for recurring cost. CONCLUSIONS: Combining virtual reality simulator with wet laboratory phacoemulsification training is effective for skills transfer in the operating theater. Despite of the high capital cost of virtual reality simulator, its relatively low recurring cost is more favorable toward cost-effectiveness.

Field intubation of cardiac arrest patients: a dying art?

INTRODUCTION: The most appropriate advanced airway intervention in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is unproven. This study reviews prehospital advanced airway management and its complications in OHCA patients. METHODS: A 4-year, observational, retrospective case review. Patients attending the Emergency Department of the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Scotland, with a primary diagnosis of OHCA were identified. Patient demographics, survival to admission, airway management technique and complication rates were identified. RESULTS: Seven hundred and ninety-four cases were identified. The aetiology of cardiac arrest was medical in 95.2%, traumatic in 3.9% and unrecorded in 0.9%. Prehospital intubation was attempted in 628 patients. Prehospital intubation was successful in 573 patients. A significant complication (multiple attempts, displaced endotracheal tube or oesophageal intubation) occurred in 55 (8.8%) patients. 165 (20.8%) patients survived to hospital admission, of whom 110 had undergone prehospital intubation. 55 patients who did not undergo prehospital tracheal intubation survived to hospital admission. CONCLUSION: The optimal method of maintaining an airway and ventilating an OHCA patient has yet to be established. Prehospital tracheal intubation for OHCA is associated with significant complications and may reduce survival. The use of tracheal intubation as a routine intervention should be reconsidered. Ambulance services should consider adopting alternative strategies in airway management.

Royal College of Ophthalmologists' National Ophthalmology Database study of cataract surgery: report 6. The impact of EyeSi virtual reality training on complications rates of cataract surgery performed by first and second year trainees.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of EyeSi surgical simulators on posterior capsule rupture (PCR) rates of cataract surgery performed by first and second year trainee surgeons. DESIGN: A Royal College of Ophthalmologists' National Ophthalmology Database audit study of first and second year surgeons' PCR rates over seven consecutive National Health Service (NHS) years. Participating centres were contacted to ascertain the date when their surgeons had access to an EyeSi machine and whether this was on-site or off-site. Operations were classified as before, after or no access to EyeSi. SETTING: The study took place in 29 NHS Ophthalmology Units in a secondary care setting. RESULTS: Two-hundred and sixty five first and second year trainee surgeons performed 17 831 cataract operations. 6919 (38.8%) operations were performed before access to an EyeSi, 8648 (48.5%) after access to an EyeSi and 2264 (12.7%) operations by surgeons with no access to an EyeSi. Overall, there was a 38% reduction in the first and second year surgeon's unadjusted PCR rates from 4.2% in 2009 to 2.6% in 2015 for surgeons with access to an EyeSi, and a 3% reduction from 2.9% to 2.8% for surgeons without access to an EyeSi. The overall first and second year unadjusted PCR rates for before, after and no access to EyeSi were 3.5%, 2.6% and 3.8%, respectively. The decrease in the with-access to an EyeSi group PCR rate was similar for surgeons with access to an EyeSi 'on site' or 'off site'. CONCLUSIONS: First and second year trainee surgeons' unadjusted PCR rates have decreased since 2009 which has significant benefits for patients undergoing cataract surgery. This 38% reduction in complication rates aligns with the introduction of EyeSi simulator training.

Treatment outcomes for amblyopia using PEDIG amblyopia protocols: a retrospective study of 877 cases.

BACKGROUND: The landmark Pediatric Eye Disease Investigators Group (PEDIG) Amblyopia Treatment Studies (ATS) 2A and 2B concluded that 6 hours of occlusion were as efficacious as full-time occlusion in treating severe amblyopia and that 2 hours occlusion were as effective as 6 in treating moderate amblyopia. We present the first retrospective study of real-world outcomes of amblyopia treatment using PEDIG amblyopia protocols in 877 patients treated at a single center. METHODS: Electronic patient records were reviewed retrospectively to identify children meeting ATS2A (severe amblyopia) and ATS2B (moderate amblyopia) inclusion criteria who presented at the Gloucestershire Eye Unit from 2013 to 2017. Clinical data for each patient were entered during routine clinical care. Severely amblyopic children were prescribed 6 hours occlusion daily, and moderately amblyopic children 2 hours, after 12 weeks refractive adaptation. RESULTS: A total of 288 children were in the ATS2A group and 589 in the ATS2B group. Of the severely amblyopic eyes, 40% achieved best-corrected visual acuity better than 0.4 logMAR at 32 weeks, increasing to 55% at 48 weeks; of the moderately amblyopic eyes, 71% achieved best-corrected visual acuity better than 0.3 logMAR at 32 weeks. The mean number of lines of visual improvement was 4.2 for severely amblyopic eyes and 2.1 for moderately amblyopic eyes. CONCLUSIONS: This is the largest reported series of amblyopia treated according to PEDIG protocols. The study population achieved outcomes comparable to those demonstrated by the PEDIG studies. This audit represents a "real-world" benchmark for treatment outcomes in clinical practice.

Emergency department at the cutting edge.

OBJECTIVE: This paper reviews the experience of penetrating chest trauma over a 3-year period in one UK emergency department. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed of patients assessed in the emergency department resuscitation room between 1 January 2002 and 31 December 2005. Patients with penetrating chest trauma, either isolated or in combination with other injuries, were included. A Medline search was performed using the terms 'chest', 'trauma' and 'penetrating'. RESULTS: A total of 120 patients presented with penetrating chest trauma. Ninety-two percent were male. Ninety-six percent (115) of the patients survived to hospital discharge. Seventy-eight percent of the patients presented at night (20.00 and 8.00 h). A single wound accounted for 52% (63) of patients, multiple wounds 43% (52) with 2% (two) gun-shot wounds and 3% (three) impalings. The mean prehospital time of patients in cardiac arrest was 42 min with a mean on-scene time of 24 min. The mean prehospital time for patients undergoing formal emergency surgery was 39 min with a mean on-scene time of 16 min. Twenty-three patients required one or more tube thoracostomies to be performed in the emergency department and six underwent emergency department thoracotomy. Sixteen patients required immediate formal emergency surgery for haemorrhage control. CONCLUSION: Penetrating chest trauma contributes significantly to our trauma workload with a high proportion of patients sustaining life-threatening injuries requiring immediate intervention. Significant prehospital delays occur. Overall mortality of 4.2% is comparable with that of a major American case series. Further education and protocol development is required to ensure that prehospital and emergency department management of these patients reflects the latest evidence-based guidelines.

Ocular presentation of pediatric Miller-Fisher syndrome.

The authors describe a case of Miller-Fisher syndrome in a child who presented to the ophthalmology department with bilateral abducens nerve palsies. Miller-Fisher syndrome is an important differential diagnosis in any case of bilateral sixth nerve palsies but should only be definitively diagnosed once tumors, infections, and other neurological diseases have been conclusively ruled out.

Radiotherapy in thyroid eye disease: the effect on the field of binocular single vision.

PURPOSE: Thyroid eye disease (TED) can be a functionally disabling condition if ocular muscle involvement causes diplopia. The extraocular muscle restriction creates a reduced or eccentric field of binocular single vision (BSV). Orbital radiotherapy is now widely used in the treatment of TED, and although it has been reported as improving ocular motility, there have been few quantitative studies of the effect of treatment on ocular motor function. METHODS: Retrospective case note review of patients undergoing orbital radiotherapy for TED between 1992-1998 identified 79 case records. A total of 27 patients had diplopia in primary position or a significantly reduced binocular field before undergoing radiotherapy. The fields of BSV were analyzed pretreatment and at 3, 12, and 24 months after therapy to assess any improvement in function. We used the field of BSV as an outcome measure because it can be quantified and is a good indicator of functional ability. RESULTS: None of the 12 patients with double vision in primary position pretreatment regained a central binocular field with radiotherapy alone. Of the 15 patients with a central but reduced binocular field, 8 (53%) remained unchanged with treatment. In 4 patients (26.6%), there was an improvement in the field, while in 3 (20%) the field deteriorated. In all, 12 patients (44%) went on to require strabismus surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Orbital radiotherapy alone is ineffective in treating restrictive thyroid myopathy and improving binocular function.