Ophthalmology
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Comparative Study
Ethnic Differences in the Prevalence and Risk Factors of Diabetic Retinopathy: The Singapore Epidemiology of Eye Diseases Study.
To evaluate the prevalence and risk factors for diabetic retinopathy (DR) in the Singapore Epidemiology of Eye Diseases (SEED) Study. ⋯ Indian Singaporeans have a higher prevalence of DR and DME compared with Chinese and Malays. Major risk factors for DR in this study were similar across the 3 ethnic groups. Addressing these risk factors may reduce the impact of DR in Asia, regardless of ethnicity.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Association of Rare Predicted Loss-of-Function Variants in Cellular Pathways with Sub-Phenotypes in Age-Related Macular Degeneration.
To investigate the association of rare predicted loss-of-function (pLoF) variants within age-related macular degeneration (AMD) risk loci and AMD sub-phenotypes. ⋯ Rare pLoF variants are associated with disease progression. Variants in the complement pathway modify the clinical course of AMD and increase the risk of developing specific sub-phenotypes.
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Brand Medications and Medicare Part D: How Eye Care Providers' Prescribing Patterns Influence Costs.
To quantify costs of eye care providers' Medicare Part D prescribing patterns for ophthalmic medications and to estimate the potential savings of generic or therapeutic drug substitutions and price negotiation. ⋯ Eye care providers prescribe more brand medications by volume than any other provider group. Efforts to reduce prescription expenditures by eye care providers should focus on increasing the use of generic medications, primarily through therapeutic substitutions. Policy changes enabling Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices could decrease costs to Medicare.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A Randomized Controlled Study of Art Observation Training to Improve Medical Student Ophthalmology Skills.
Observation and description are critical to the practice of medicine, and to ophthalmology in particular. However, medical education does not provide explicit training in these areas, and medical students are often criticized for deficiencies in these skills. We sought to evaluate the effects of formal observation training in the visual arts on the general and ophthalmologic observational skills of medical students. ⋯ Art observation training for first-year medical students can improve clinical ophthalmology observational skills. Principles from the field of visual arts, which is reputed to excel in teaching observation and descriptive abilities, can be successfully applied to medical training. Further studies can examine the impact of such training on clinical care.
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Comparative Study
The Prevalence and Causes of Vision Loss in Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians: The National Eye Health Survey.
To conduct a nationwide survey on the prevalence and causes of vision loss in Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. ⋯ Vision loss is more prevalent in Indigenous Australians than in non-Indigenous Australians, highlighting that improvements in eye healthcare in Indigenous communities are required. The leading causes of vision loss were uncorrected refractive error and cataract, which are readily treatable. Other countries with Indigenous communities may benefit from conducting similar surveys of Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations.