Accuracy of retinopathy of prematurity image-based diagnosis by pediatric ophthalmology fellows: implications for training.

PURPOSE: To measure the accuracy of image-based retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) diagnosis by pediatric ophthalmology fellows. METHODS: This was a comparative case series of expert versus nonexpert clinicians in image-based ROP diagnosis. An atlas of 804 retinal images was captured from 248 eyes of 67 premature infants with a wide-angle camera (RetCam-II, Clarity Medical Systems, Pleasanton, CA). Images were uploaded to a study website from which an expert pediatric retinal specialist and five pediatric ophthalmology fellows independently provided a diagnosis (no ROP, mild ROP, type 2 ROP, or treatment-requiring ROP) for each eye. Two different retinal specialists experienced in ROP examination served as additional controls. Primary outcome measures were sensitivity and specificity of image-based ROP diagnosis by fellows compared to a reference standard of image-based interpretation by the expert pediatric retinal specialist. Secondary outcome measure was intraphysician reliability. RESULTS: For detection of mild or worse ROP, the mean (range) sensitivity among the five fellows was 0.850 (0.670-0.962) and specificity was 0.919 (0.832-0.964). For detection of type 2 or worse ROP by fellows, mean (range) sensitivity was 0.527 (0.356-0.709) and specificity was 0.938 (0.777-1.000). For detection of treatment-requiring ROP, mean (range) sensitivity was 0.515 (0.267-0.765) and specificity was 0.949 (0.805-1.00). CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric ophthalmology fellows in this study demonstrated high diagnostic specificity in image-based ROP diagnosis; however, sensitivity was lower, particularly for clinically significant disease.

Accuracy of retinopathy of prematurity diagnosis by retinal fellows.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to measure the accuracy of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) diagnosis by retinal fellows. METHODS: An atlas of 804 retinal images was captured from 248 eyes of 67 premature infants with a wide-angle camera (RetCam-II, Clarity Medical Systems, Pleasanton, CA). Images were uploaded to a study Web site, from which an expert pediatric retinal specialist and 7 retinal fellows independently provided a diagnosis (no ROP, mild ROP, type 2 ROP, or treatment-requiring ROP) for each eye. The sensitivity and specificity of each retinal fellow were calculated and subsequently compared with a reference standard of diagnosis by an expert pediatric retinal specialist. RESULTS: For detection of type 2 or worse ROP by fellows, mean (range) sensitivity was 0.751 (0.512-0.953), and specificity was 0.841 (0.707-0.976). For detection of treatment-requiring ROP, mean (range) sensitivity was 0.914 (0.667-1.000), and specificity was 0.871 (0.678-0.987). CONCLUSION: In general, fellows showed high accuracy for detecting ROP. However, 3 of 7 fellows achieved <80% sensitivity for diagnosis of type 2 or worse ROP, and 2 of 7 achieved <90% sensitivity for diagnosis of treatment-requiring ROP. This could lead to undermanagement and undertreatment of clinically significant disease and raises potential concerns about the quality of ROP screening examinations performed by less-experienced examiners.

Acute retinal necrosis after intraocular triamcinolone acetonide injection.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to report a case of acute retinal necrosis after combined cataract surgery and intracameral triamcinolone acetonide injection in a healthy elderly patient. METHODS: Testing used was a clinical examination including fundus photographs, fluo-rescein angiography, and serologic testing. RESULTS: A 75-year-old healthy white woman undergoing cataract extraction received an injection of intracameral triamcinolone acetonide as a substitute for postoperative topical steroids. Two weeks later, the patient developed acute retinal necrosis, which responded well to systemic antiviral therapy. CONCLUSION: Acute retinal necrosis is a rare, but potentially devastating, complication that may be associated with intraocular triamcinolone acetonide injection.

Telemedical diagnosis of retinopathy of prematurity: accuracy of expert versus non-expert graders.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To assess accuracy of telemedical retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) diagnosis by trained non-expert graders compared with expert graders. METHODS: Eye examinations (n=248) from 67 consecutive infants were captured using wide-angle retinal photography (RetCam-II, Clarity Medical Systems, Pleasanton, California, USA). Non-expert graders attended two 1-h training sessions on image-based ROP diagnosis. Using a web-based telemedicine system, 14 non-expert and three expert graders provided a diagnosis for each eye: no ROP, mild ROP, type 2 pre-threshold ROP or treatment-requiring ROP. All diagnoses were compared with a reference standard of dilated indirect ophthalmoscopy by an experienced paediatric ophthalmologist. RESULTS: For detection of type 2 or worse ROP, the mean (range) sensitivities and specificities were 0.95 (0.94-0.97) and 0.93 (0.91-0.96) for experts, 0.87 (0.71-0.97) and 0.73 (0.39-0.95) for resident non-experts, and 0.73 (0.41-0.88) and 0.91 (0.84-0.96) for student non-experts, respectively. For detection of treatment-requiring ROP, the mean (range) sensitivities and specificities were 1.00 (1.00-1.00) and 0.93 (0.88-0.96) for experts, 0.88 (0.50-1.00) and 0.84 (0.71-0.98) for resident non-experts, and 0.82 (0.42-1.00) and 0.92 (0.83-0.97) for student non-experts, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Mean sensitivity and specificity of trained non-experts were lower than that of experts, although several non-experts had high accuracy. Development of methods for training non-expert graders may help support telemedical ROP evaluation.