Smartphone-based remote monitoring of vision in macular disease enables early detection of worsening pathology and need for intravitreal therapy.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To assess the outcomes of home monitoring of distortion caused by macular diseases using a smartphone-based application (app), and to examine them with hospital-based assessments of visual acuity (VA), optical coherence tomography-derived central macular thickness (CMT) and the requirement of intravitreal injection therapy. DESIGN: Observational study with retrospective analysis of data. METHODS: Participants were trained in the correct use of the app (Alleye, Oculocare, Zurich, Switzerland) in person or by using video and telephone consultations. Automated threshold-based alerts were communicated based on a traffic light system. A 'threshold alarm' was defined as three consecutive 'red' scores, and turned into a 'persistent alarm' if present for greater than a 7-day period. Changes of VA and CMT, and the requirement for intravitreal therapy after an alarm were examined. RESULTS: 245 patients performing a total of 11 592 tests (mean 46.9 tests per user) were included and 85 eyes (164 alarms) examined. Mean drop in VA from baseline was -4.23 letters (95% CI: -6.24 to -2.22; p<0.001) and mean increase in CMT was 29.5 µm (95% CI: -0.08 to 59.13; p=0.051). Sixty-six eyes (78.5%) producing alarms either had a drop in VA, increase in CMT or both and 60.0% received an injection. Eyes with persistent alarms had a greater loss of VA, -4.79 letters (95% CI: -6.73 to -2.85; p<0.001) or greater increase in CMT, +87.8 µm (95% CI: 5.2 to 170.4; p=0.038). CONCLUSION: Smartphone-based self-tests for macular disease may serve as reliable indicators for the worsening of pathology and the need for treatment.

Eye care in the intensive care unit during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ocular complications in critical care patients are common. There has been a surge in intensive care admissions following the COVID-19 outbreak. The management of COVID-19 exposes patients to a number of specific risk factors for developing ocular complications, which include non-invasive ventilation, mechanical ventilation and prone positioning. Consequently, it is likely that there will be an increase in the number of ocular complications secondary to the management of COVID-19 patients in the intensive care unit setting, and these complications could lead to permanent visual loss and blindness. Increased awareness of eye care in the intensive care unit setting is therefore vital to help prevent visual loss and maintain quality of life for patients recovering from COVID-19.

Pregnancy complicated by haemorrhagic ascites in a woman with newly diagnosed HIV.

A young pregnant Zambian woman was referred from a district hospital in South Zambia to the university teaching hospital, Lusaka with severe anaemia and ascites. The ascites had developed over a month and the woman was currently 15 weeks pregnant. Further workup revealed that the patient was HIV-positive and the ascitic tap showed haemorrhagic fluid. After being reviewed by multiple doctors, the cause of the haemorrhagic ascites remained unclear; therefore, the decision was made to do a laparotomy. The laparotomy revealed haemoperitoneum and a large cyst attached to the liver containing 5 L of bloodstained fluid. The histopathology report revealed features consistent with a giant haemangioma. There were many barriers to accessing optimum healthcare in this case. These included limited access to blood, poor communication resulting in the patient being unaware of her HIV status and lack of patient education about HIV.