Modeling the impact of COVID-19 on Retina Clinic Performance.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19, a highly contagious respiratory virus, presents unique challenges to ophthalmology practice as a high-volume, office-based specialty. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many operational changes were adopted in our ophthalmology clinic to enhance patient and provider safety while maintaining necessary clinical operations. The aim of this study was to evaluate how measures adopted during the pandemic period affected retina clinic performance and patient satisfaction, and to model future clinic flow to predict operational performance under conditions of increasing patient and provider volumes. METHODS: Clinic event timestamps and demographics were extracted from the electronic medical records of in-person retina encounters from March 15 to May 15, 2020 and compared with the same period in 2019 to assess patient flow through the clinical encounter. Patient satisfaction was evaluated by Press Ganey patient experience surveys obtained from randomly selected outpatient encounters. A discrete-events simulation was designed to model the clinic with COVID-era restrictions to assess operational performance under conditions of increasing patient and provider volumes. RESULTS: Retina clinic volume declined by 62 % during the COVID-19 health emergency. Average check-in-to-technician time declined 79 %, total visit length declined by 46 %, and time in the provider phase of care declined 53 %. Patient satisfaction regarding access nearly doubled during the COVID-period compared with the prior year (p < 0.0001), while satisfaction with overall care and safety remained high during both periods. A model incorporating COVID-related changes demonstrated that wait time before rooming reached levels similar to the pre-COVID era by 30 patients-per-provider in a 1-provider model and 25 patients-per-provider in a 2-provider model (p < 0.001). Capacity to maintain distancing between patients was exceeded only in the two 2-provider model above 25 patients-per-provider. CONCLUSIONS: Clinic throughput was optimized in response to the COVID-19 health emergency. Modeling these clinic changes can help plan for eventual volume increases in the setting of limits imposed in the COVID-era.

Evaluation of Different Preosteotomy Determinants as Affecting the Success of Implant Therapy: A "CBCT"-based Clinical Study.

AIM: The success of implant therapy is of greatest concern for clinicians because a minor negligence can lead to ultimate failure of treatment. However, comprehensive and precise treatment planning can ensure high success rate of implant therapy. Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) is an innovation that allows clinicians to explore all related factors in details. This study was conducted to evaluate different preosteotomy determinants as affecting the success of implant therapy in the maxillary anterior region using CBCT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was conducted on 98 partially or complete denture patients willing for artificial replacement of their missing teeth by implant or implant over-denture. Demographic details of participating patients were collected. Furthermore, comprehensive local examination was also done to finalize the site of placement of implant. Cone-beam computed tomography was attempted in all patients for determining accurate implant location, status of bone, and other interrelated determinants of implant success. Cone-beam computed tomography was also prescribed for patients so as to have presurgical idea of implant dimensions as shown in virtual placement of implant. To rule out any interobserver bias, the interpretations of CBCT images were completed by two independent experienced observers. RESULTS: In the 98 studied patients, 61 were males and 37 were females. The study was restricted to the maxillary anterior region only. The studied preosteotomy determinants were available bone height and width in the edentulous region from ridge crest up to the maxillary sinus floor or the nasal fossa floor. A total of 107 implants were placed virtually (on CBCT) in the maxillary anterior region and compared quantitatively in postosteotomy phases. Implant placement sites were the maxillary central incisor region (39), the lateral incisor region (31), and canine (37). Authors also noticed that the relative length and width of virtual implant remained unaffected in 97% of the cases. CONCLUSION: Cone-beam computed tomography showed accurate status of various presurgical determinants like trabeculae, peri-ridiculer pathology, and amount of horizontal and vertical bone losses. Hence, it was further concluded that all these presurgical determinants greatly affect the final success rate of implant therapy. It is therefore deemed necessary to judiciously consider and clinically manage such factors before attempting implant in the maxillary anterior region. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Presurgical evaluation of factors associated with implant dimensions significantly assists clinicians in deciding the finest treatment option. All additional information provided by CBCT genuinely led to a change in the treatment plan that provides enhanced clinical outcome with lesser postoperative complications. How to cite this article: Jain S, Kapoor K, Sethi K, et al. Evaluation of Different Preosteotomy Determinants as Affecting the Success of Implant Therapy: A "CBCT"-based Clinical Study. J Contemp Dent Pract 2019;20(10):1212-1216.