Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND/UNASSIGNED:Systemic hypoperfusion plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). Extreme dips in mean arterial pressure (MAP) due to high 24-h variability are associated with POAG, however, whether this is driven by diurnal or nocturnal dips remains undocumented. We aimed this study to investigate the association of POAG damage with variability and dips in the diurnal and nocturnal MAP. METHODS/UNASSIGNED:We conducted a retrospective longitudinal study that included 110 POAG patients who underwent 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. Our outcomes included (i) functional [visual field defects expressed as mean deviation (MD)] and (ii) structural (optic disc cupping obtained from cup-to-disc ratio) glaucoma damage. MAP variability independent of the mean (VIMmap) was computed for diurnal and nocturnal MAP. Dips were the five diurnal and three nocturnal lowest drops in MAP. We also calculated the night-to-day ratio. We applied mixed models to evaluate the progression of visual field defects and optic disc cupping in relation to diurnal and nocturnal MAP measures. RESULTS/UNASSIGNED:≤ 0.022). CONCLUSION/UNASSIGNED:Progression of glaucoma damage in POAG associates with high variability and extreme dips in the diurnal MAP. Structural glaucoma damage seems more vulnerable to nocturnal hypotension. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring allows the assessment of sporadic diurnal and persistent nocturnal hypotension episodes. These phenotypes might offer an opportunity to improve the risk-stratification of open-angle glaucoma (OAG).

OBJECTIVE:To understand the problems involved in using global OCT measures for detecting progression in early glaucoma. SUBJECTS/METHODS/METHODS:, were calculated. Using quantile regression, the 95% CI intervals were determined. Eyes outside the CIs were classified as "progressors." For a reference standard (RS), four experts evaluated OCT and VF information. RESULTS:falsely identified (false positive, FP) 10 (22.2%) of 45 patient RS-NP eyes and 7 (25%) of the 28 HC eyes as progressing. Post-hoc analysis identified three reasons (segmentation, centring, and local damage) for these errors. CONCLUSIONS:for detecting progression.

Hypoperfusion of the optic nerve might be involved in the pathogenesis of normal-tension glaucomatous optic neuropathy (GON). Mean arterial pressure (MAP) drives ocular perfusion, but no previous studies have addressed the risk of GON in relation to blood pressure (BP) variability, independent of BP level. In a cross-sectional study, 93 residents of Maracaibo, Venezuela, underwent optical coherence tomography, visual field assessments and 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring between 2011 and 2016. We investigated the association of normal-tension GON with or without visual field defects with reading-to reading variability of 24-h MAP, as captured by variability independent of the MAP level (VIM_map). Odds ratios (ORs) were adjusted for 24-h MAP level and for a propensity score of up to five risk factors. Among the 93 participants (87.1% women; mean age, 61.9 years), 26 had open-angle normal-tension GON at both eyes; 14 had visual field defects; and 19 did not have visual field defects. The OR ratios for normal-tension GON, expressed per 1-SD increment in VIM_map (2 mm Hg), were 2.17 (95% confidence interval, 1.33-3.53) unadjusted; 2.20 (1.35-3.61) adjusted for 24-h MAP level only; 1.93 (1.10-3.41) with additional adjustment for age, educational attainment, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and office hypertension; and 1.95 (1.10-3.45) in models including intraocular pressure. We confirmed our a priori hypothesis that BP variability, most likely operating via hypoperfusion of the optic nerve, is associated with normal-tension GON. 24-H ambulatory BP monitoring might therefore help stratify the risk of normal-tension GON.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:To examine the benefits and feasibility of a mobile, real-time, community-based, teleophthalmology program for detecting eye diseases in the New York metro area. DESIGN/METHODS:Single site, nonrandomized, cross-sectional, teleophthalmologic study. METHODS:Participants underwent a comprehensive evaluation in a Wi-Fi-equipped teleophthalmology mobile unit. The evaluation consisted of a basic anamnesis with a questionnaire form, brief systemic evaluations and an ophthalmologic evaluation that included visual field, intraocular pressure, pachymetry, anterior segment optical coherence tomography, posterior segment optical coherence tomography, and nonmydriatic fundus photography. The results were evaluated in real-time and follow-up calls were scheduled to complete a secondary questionnaire form. Risk factors were calculated for different types of ophthalmological referrals. RESULTS:A total of 957 participants were screened. Out of 458 (48%) participants that have been referred, 305 (32%) had glaucoma, 136 (14%) had narrow-angle, 124 (13%) had cataract, 29 had (3%) diabetic retinopathy, 9 (1%) had macular degeneration, and 97 (10%) had other eye disease findings. Significant risk factors for ophthalmological referral consisted of older age, history of high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, Hemoglobin A1c measurement of ≥6.5, and stage 2 hypertension. As for the ocular parameters, all but central corneal thickness were found to be significant, including having an intraocular pressure >21 mm Hg, vertical cup-to-disc ratio ≥0.5, visual field abnormalities, and retinal nerve fiber layer thinning. CONCLUSIONS:Mobile, real-time teleophthalmology is both workable and effective in increasing access to care and identifying the most common causes of blindness and their risk factors.

OBJECTIVE:To identify the role of gender and other factors in influencing ophthalmologists' compensation. DESIGN/METHODS:Cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS/METHODS:U.S. practicing ophthalmologists. METHODS:Between January and March 2020, an anonymous survey was sent to U.S. residency program directors and practicing ophthalmologists who recently completed residency training. Respondents who completed residency ≤10 years ago and responded to questions about gender, fellowship training, state of practice, and salary were included. Propensity score match (PSM) analysis was performed with age, academic residency, top residency, fellowship, state median wage, practice type, ethnicity and number of work days. Multivariate linear regression (MLR) analysis controlled for additional factors along with the aforementioned variables. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES/METHODS:Base starting salary with bonus (SWB) received in the first year of clinical position was the main outcome measure. A multiplier of 1.2 (20%) was added to the base salary to account for bonus. RESULTS:Of 684 respondents, 384 (56% female, 44% male) from 68 programs were included. Female ophthalmologists received a mean initial SWB that was $33,139.80 less than their male colleagues (12.5%, p=0.00). PSM analysis showed a SWB difference of -$27,273.89 (10.3% gap, p=0.0015). Additionally, SWB differences were calculated with the number of work days substituted by OR days [-$19727.85 (8.60% gap, p=0.0092)] and clinic days [--$27793.67 (10.5% gap, p=0.0013)] in separate PSM analyses. The SWB differences between genders were significant using MLR analyses, which also controlled for work, clinic, and OR days separately (-$22261.49, $-18604.65, and $-16191.26, respectively; p=0.017, p=0.015, p=0.002). Gender independently predicted income in all 3 analyses (p<0.05). Although an association between gender and the attempt to negotiate was not detected, a greater portion of men subjectively reported success in negotiation (p=0.03). CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:Female ophthalmologists earn significantly less than their male colleagues in the first year of clinical practice. Salary differences persist after controlling for demographic, educational, and practice type variables with MLR and PSM analyses. These income differences may lead to a substantial loss of accumulated earnings over an individual's career.

Purpose : Hypertension (HTN) is a risk factor that may affect glaucoma progression. There is a weak positive correlation between blood pressure (BP) and IOP, and lower ocular perfusion is associated with glaucoma prevalence and progression. Macular damage was once thought to be significant only in late stages of glaucoma, but recent studies have shown it can occur earlier. This study examines glaucomatous structural progression of the global retina nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and the macula ganglion cell layer (GCL+) with optical coherence tomography (OCT) and functional progression with visual fields (VF) and their relationship with hypertension. Methods : 191 eyes of 119 patients enrolled in a prospective, longitudinal study (Structural and Functional Progression of Glaucomatous Damage to the Macula study) were analyzed. These patients were tested with 10-2 and 24-2 VF and spectral-domain OCT obtained at 4-6 month intervals. 72 eyes (37%) had self-reported diagnosis of HTN. Linear mixed effects regression was used to test the relationship between summary statistics from VF and OCT and HTN diagnosis. The goodness-of-fit of relationships was assessed with Bayesian Information Criterion. Results : The average (95% CI) 24-2 and 10-2 MD rate of progression was-0.31 dB/year (-0.43 to-0.19) and-0.36 dB/year (-0.48 to-0.24), respectively. The rate of progression for OCT was-1.14 microns/year (-1.53 to-0.75) for global RNFL and-0.89 microns/year (-1.30 to-0.48) for global macula GCL+. There was no significant difference in rate of progression between HTN and non-HTN patients with any OCT or VF parameter. Yet, models with better goodness-of-fit when testing the relationship between HTN and progression had the following OCT parameters: global macula GCL+, inferior macula GCL+, mean GCL+ of macular vulnerability zone (MVZ), and mean macula GCL+ of less vulnerability zone (LVZ), and VF parameters: 10-2 PSD and 10-2 MD. Conclusions : HTN was not significantly associated with progression using any parameter. However, based on ranked model fits, macular structural and functional parameters had best performance fitting the progression data, suggesting their usefulness as endpoints. Studies defining HTN based on 24-hour BP monitoring and including modalities of treatment may better elucidate whether this prevalent systemic disease is an independent risk factor for glaucoma progression

Purpose : Repetitive transorbital alternating current stimulation (rtACS) is an application of weak electric current near the eyes used in vision rehabilitation of optic neuropathies (ON). Conceptually rtACS entrains neuronal oscillations, augmenting neuronal function. In subjects with ON we evaluated whether rtACS influenced visual structure and function. Methods : 34 subjects with ON enrolled in a prospective trial underwent comprehensive ophthalmic evaluation, visual field (VF) 24-2 and 10-2 tests (Humphrey Field Analyzer) and OCT (Cirrus HD-OCT) retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and ganglion cell inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) thicknesses at baseline and follow-up (FU) visits. Subjects received rtACS 30-to 45-minutes daily for 10 days. Sham subjects (n=4) underwent the same procedures but received no current. Point-by-point analyses of VF total deviation (TD) values were conducted between rtACS and sham groups. Regression analyses determined rate of change for each TD point per eye (significant points with positive rate of change defined as improved, negative rate of change as progressed; insignificant rate of change as no change) and the association between RNFL and GCIPL between groups. Results : The number of FU visits with VF tests ranged 2 to 7, with no significant differences detected between rtACS vs sham groups' FU duration. No significant differences were detected between groups' baseline VF 24-2 and 10-2 mean deviation (MD) values (Table 1). The average numbers of improved points (VF 10-2) and progressed points (VF 24-2) were greater for rtACS while the average number of no change points was greater for sham (VF 24-2, p0.05, Table 1). Further analysis of FU duration determined a significant interaction with rtACS; number of improved points (VF 10-2) and progressed points (VF 24-2, p<0.02) were not sustained over time. No significant differences were detected in average RNFL and GCIPL thicknesses between groups. Conclusions : Preliminary analyses of the effect of rtACS in ON indicate initial improvement but not a clear benefit over time. Detection of differences between rtACS vs sham groups may be biased due to the small sham sample and range of FU duration as VF test-to-test variability is known to increase with worsening VF MD. Future analyses will assess interim effect at early vs late FU time points to evaluate the role of rtACS in vision rehabilitation

Purpose : Prevalence and severity of glaucoma varies between ethnicities. It has been previously shown that ocular vessel density (VD) varies among healthy subjects of different ethnicities. To further elucidate the potential role of VD in glaucoma we examined ocular VD in Caucasian, African American (AA), and Latin at similar stages of glaucoma severity. Methods : 150 glaucoma eyes of which 46 eyes (30 subjects) were Caucasian, 71 eyes (43 subjects) African American, and 33 eyes (19 subjects) Latin were included in the analysis. Comorbidities known to affect the systemic or local micro-or macro-vasculature and medications that are known to modify vessel diameter were excluded. Disease severity distribution was similar across ethnicity groups. All eyes had comprehensive ophthalmic examination, Cirrus HD-OCT (Zeiss, Dublin, CA) and OCT angiography (OCTA; Angioplex, Zeiss) qualified scans of the macula and optic nerve head regions (200x200 OCT cube scans and 3x3mm / 6x6mm OCTA scans). VD as provided by the device's native software in the inner vascular plexus was used for the analysis. Statistical analysis was performed using mixed-effects models accounting for ethnicity, age, axial length, visual field mean deviation (MD), OCT signal strength (SS), disc area and intra-subject correlation. Tukeyadjusted p-values for pairwise ethnicity comparisons were obtained.Results : No significant difference was detected in age and MD among ethnicities (Table 1). Caucasian subjects had the longest AL and thinnest RNFL, and Latin subjects had the largest disc area and cup-to-disc ratio (CDR; Table 1). No significant differences were detected among ethnicities in ONH VD in any of the scan types and regions. In the macula, Caucasians had significantly higher VD in the center of both scan sizes in comparison with both AA and Latin (Table 2). Caucasian eyes also had significantly higher VD in the full 3x3 scan in comparison with AA eyes. There were no significant differences in the rest of the macular VD measurements among the 3 groups. Conclusions : Macular VD in glaucoma subjects varies among ethnicities and might play a role in the varying disease behavior among ethnicities. Differences in foveal avascular zone size might explain our findings but further investigation is warranted

BACKGROUND:This review explores the bioethical implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine and in ophthalmology. AI, which was first introduced in the 1950s, is defined as "the machine simulation of human mental reasoning, decision making, and behavior". The increased power of computing, expansion of storage capacity, and compilation of medical big data helped the AI implementation surge in medical practice and research. Ophthalmology is a leading medical specialty in applying AI in screening, diagnosis, and treatment. The first Food and Drug Administration approved autonomous diagnostic system served to diagnose and classify diabetic retinopathy. Other ophthalmic conditions such as age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, retinopathy of prematurity, and congenital cataract, among others, implemented AI too. PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:To review the contemporary literature of the bioethical issues of AI in medicine and ophthalmology, classify ethical issues in medical AI, and suggest possible standardizations of ethical frameworks for AI implementation. METHODS:Keywords were searched on Google Scholar and PubMed between October 2019 and April 2020. The results were reviewed, cross-referenced, and summarized. A total of 284 references including articles, books, book chapters, and regulatory reports and statements were reviewed, and those that were relevant were cited in the paper. RESULTS:Most sources that studied the use of AI in medicine explored the ethical aspects. Bioethical challenges of AI implementation in medicine were categorized into 6 main categories. These include machine training ethics, machine accuracy ethics, patient-related ethics, physician-related ethics, shared ethics, and roles of regulators. CONCLUSIONS:There are multiple stakeholders in the ethical issues surrounding AI in medicine and ophthalmology. Attention to the various aspects of ethics related to AI is important especially with the expanding use of AI. Solutions of ethical problems are envisioned to be multifactorial.