All the King's Men -- Heads I Win, Tails You Lose -- The UnHappiness Project -- Customer Satisfaction -- I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For -- The Rating Game -- The Mother of All Nudges -- Your Health Is about More Than Just Your Health -- Needle in a Haystack -- Ghost in the Machine -- The Eye of the Storm -- Homesick -- Reefer Madness -- Customer Appreciation -- Under the Influence -- Data Dump -- Catch Me if You Can -- Let Freedom Ring -- What Does It All Mean?
Objective To assess the feasibility of a dynamic craniotomy procedure with the use of a novel reversibly expandable cranial bone flap fixation plate. The expandable plate allows outward bone flap migration with an increase in intracranial volume or intracranial pressure (ICP). Methods Dynamic craniotomy intracranial hypertension compliance was evaluated in a skull model with progressive increase in intracranial volume and compared with the standard craniotomy with fixed plates. Results Dynamic craniotomy provided significant control of ICP with increasing intracranial volume compared with the standard craniotomy. With an incremental increase in intracranial volume from 360 mL to 600 mL, the ICP increased from 2.6 to 91.9 mm Hg with the standard craniotomy, whereas with the dynamic craniotomy the ICP for similar intracranial volume increased from 2.5 to 25 mm Hg (p < 0.00001). Conclusions The dynamic craniotomy procedure provides superior control of ICP with an abrupt intracranial volume increase when compared with the standard craniotomy.
As we move from a disease-specific care model toward comprehensive eye care (CEC), there is a need for a more holistic and integrated approach involving the health system. It should encompass not only treatment, but also prevention, promotion, and rehabilitation of incurable blindness. Although a few models already exist, the majority of health systems still face the challenges in the implementation of CEC, mainly due to political, economic, and logistic barriers. Shortage of eye care human resources, lack of educational skills, paucity of funds, limited access to instrumentation and treatment modalities, poor outreach, lack of transportation, and fear of surgery represent the major barriers to its large-scale diffusion. In most low- and middle-income countries, primary eye care services are defective and are inadequately integrated into primary health care and national health systems. Social, economic, and demographic factors such as age, gender, place of residence, personal incomes, ethnicity, political status, and health status also reduce the potential of success of any intervention. This article highlights these issues and demonstrates the way forward to address them by strengthening the health system as well as leveraging technological innovations to facilitate further care.
Emerging pandemics show that humans are not infallible and communities need to be prepared. Coronavirus outbreak was first reported towards the end of 2019 and has now been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Worldwide countries are responding differently to the virus outbreak. A delay in detection and response has been recorded in China, as well as in other major countries, which led to an overburdening of the local health systems. On the other hand, some other nations have put in place effective strategies to contain the infection and have recorded a very low number of cases since the beginning of the pandemics. Restrictive measures like social distancing, lockdown, case detection, isolation, contact tracing, and quarantine of exposed had revealed the most efficient actions to control the disease spreading. This review will help the readers to understand the difference in response by different countries and their outcomes. Based on the experience of these countries, India responded to the pandemic accordingly. Only time will tell how well India has faced the outbreak. We also suggest the future directions that the global community should take to manage and mitigate the emergency.
In: Bulletin of the World Health Organization: the international journal of public health = Bulletin de l'Organisation Mondiale de la Santé, Volume 101, Issue 12, p. 786-799
Lapam Panda,1 Taraprasad Das,1 Suryasmita Nayak,1 Umasankar Barik,2 Bikash C Mohanta,1 Jachin Williams,3 Vivekanand Warkad,4 Guha Poonam Tapas Kumar,5 Rohit C Khanna3 1Indian Oil Center for Rural Eye Health, GPR ICARE, L V Prasad Eye Institute, MTC Campus, Bhubaneswar, India; 2Naraindas Morbai Budhrani Eye Centre, L V Prasad Eye Institute, Rayagada, India; 3Gullapalli Pratibha Rao International Center for Advancement of Rural Eye Care, L V Prasad Eye Institute, KAR Campus, Hyderabad, India; 4Miriam Hyman Children Eye Care Center, L V Prasad Eye Institute, MTC Campus, Bhubaneswar, India; 5District Administration, Government of Odisha, Rayagada, India Purpose: To describe program planning and effectiveness of multistage school eye screening and assess accuracy of teachers in vision screening and detection of other ocular anomalies in Rayagada District School Sight Program, Odisha, India.Methods: This multistage screening of students included as follows: stage I: screening for vision and other ocular anomalies by school teachers in the school; stage II: photorefraction, subjective correction and other ocular anomaly confirmation by optometrists in the school; stage III: comprehensive ophthalmologist examination in secondary eye center; and stage IV: pediatric ophthalmologist examination in tertiary eye center. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of teachers for vision screening and other ocular anomaly detection were calculated vis-à-vis optometrist (gold standard).Results: In the study, 216 teachers examined 153,107 (95.7% of enrolled) students aged 5–15 years. Teachers referred 8,363 (5.4% of examined) students and 5,990 (71.6% of referred) were examined in stage II. After prescribing spectacles to 443, optometrists referred 883 students to stage III. The sensitivity (80.51%) and PPV (93.05%) of teachers for vision screening were high, but specificity (53.29%) and NPV (26.02%) were low. The specificity and NPV, in general, were higher in ocular anomaly detection but varied from disease to disease.Conclusion: Multistage school screening is rapid and comprehensive in a resource-limited community. Regular training and periodic reinforcement of teachers for vision assessment and other ocular anomaly identification are required for further success of the strategy. Keywords: vision screening, school children, sensitivity, specificity, tribal, ocular anomalies
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken tragic proportions and has disrupted lives globally. In the wake of governmental lockdowns, ophthalmologists need practical and actionable guidelines based on advisories from national health departments on how to conduct their duties during nationwide lockdowns and after these are lifted. In this paper, we present a preferred practice pattern (PPP) based on consensus discussions between leading ophthalmologists and health care professionals in India including representatives from major governmental and private institutions as well as the All India Ophthalmological Society leadership. In this document, the expert panel clearly defines the range of activities for Indian ophthalmologists during the ongoing lockdown phase and precautions to be taken once the lockdown is lifted. Guidelines for triage, governmental guidelines for use of personal protective equipment from ophthalmologists' point of view, precautions to be taken in the OPD and operating room as well as care of various ophthalmic equipment have been described in detail. These guidelines will be applicable to all practice settings including tertiary institutions, corporate and group practices and individual eye clinics and should help Indian ophthalmologists in performing their professional responsibilities without being foci of disease transmission.
Cataract is the second leading cause of preventable blindness on the globe. Several programs across the country have been running efficiently to increase the cataract surgical rates and decrease blindness due to cataract. The current COVID-19 pandemic has led to a complete halt of these programs and thus accumulating all the elective cataract procedures. At present with the better understanding of the safety precautions among the health care workers and general population the Government of India (GoI) has given clearance for functioning of eye care facilities. In order to facilitate smooth functioning of every clinic, in this paper, we prepared preferred practice pattern based on consensus discussions between leading ophthalmologists in India including representatives from major governmental and private institutions as well as the All India Ophthalmological Society leadership. These guidelines will be applicable to all practice settings including tertiary institutions, corporate and group practices and individual eye clinics. The guidelines include triage, use of personal protective equipment, precautions to be taken in the OPD and operating room as well for elective cataract screening and surgery. These guidelines have been prepared based on current situation but are expected to evolve over a period of time based on the ongoing pandemic and guidelines from GoI.
Eye health and vision have widespread and profound implications for many aspects of life, health, sustainable development, and the economy. Yet nowadays, many people, families, and populations continue to suffer the consequences of poor access to high-quality, affordable eye care, leading to vision impairment and blindness. In 2020, an estimated 596 million people had distance vision impairment worldwide, of whom 43 million were blind. Another 510 million people had uncorrected near vision impairment, simply because of not having reading spectacles. A large proportion of those affected (90%), live in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, encouragingly, more than 90% of people with vision impairment have a preventable or treatable cause with existing highly cost-effective interventions. Eye conditions affect all stages of life, with young children and older people being particularly affected. Crucially, women, rural populations, and ethnic minority groups are more likely to have vision impairment, and this pervasive inequality needs to be addressed. By 2050, population ageing, growth, and urbanisation might lead to an estimated 895 million people with distance vision impairment, of whom 61 million will be blind. Action to prioritise eye health is needed now. This Commission defines eye health as maximised vision, ocular health, and functional ability, thereby contributing to overall health and wellbeing, social inclusion, and quality of life. Eye health is essential to achieve many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Poor eye health and impaired vision have a negative effect on quality of life and restrict equitable access to and achievement in education and the workplace. Vision loss has substantial financial implications for affected individuals, families, and communities. Although high-quality data for global economic estimates are scarce, particularly for LMICs, conservative assessments based on the latest prevalence figures for 2020 suggest that annual global productivity loss from vision impairment is approximately US$410·7 billion purchasing power parity. Vision impairment reduces mobility, affects mental wellbeing, exacerbates risk of dementia, increases likelihood of falls and road traffic crashes, increases the need for social care, and ultimately leads to higher mortality rates. By contrast, vision facilitates many daily life activities, enables better educational outcomes, and increases work productivity, reducing inequality. An increasing amount of evidence shows the potential for vision to advance the SDGs, by contributing towards poverty reduction, zero hunger, good health and wellbeing, quality education, gender equality, and decent work. Eye health is a global public priority, transforming lives in both poor and wealthy communities. Therefore, eye health needs to be reframed as a development as well as a health issue and given greater prominence within the global development and health agendas. Vision loss has many causes that require promotional, preventive, treatment, and rehabilitative interventions. Cataract, uncorrected refractive error, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy are responsible for most global vision impairment. Research has identified treatments to reduce or eliminate blindness from all these conditions; the priority is to deliver treatments where they are most needed. Proven eye care interventions, such as cataract surgery and spectacle provision, are among the most cost-effective in all of health care. Greater financial investment is needed so that millions of people living with unnecessary vision impairment and blindness can benefit from these interventions. Lessons from the past three decades give hope that this challenge can be met. Between 1990 and 2020, the age-standardised global prevalence of blindness fell by 28·5%. Since the 1990s, prevalence of major infectious causes of blindness—onchocerciasis and trachoma—have declined substantially. Hope remains that by 2030, the transmission of onchocerciasis will be interrupted, and trachoma will be eliminated as a public health problem in every country worldwide. However, the ageing population has led to a higher crude prevalence of age-related causes of blindness, and thus an increased total number of people with blindness in some regions. Despite this progress, business as usual will not keep pace with the demographic trends of an ageing global population or address the inequities that persist in each country. New threats to eye health are emerging, including the worldwide increase in diabetic retinopathy, high myopia, retinopathy of prematurity, and chronic eye diseases of ageing such as glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration. With the projected increase in such conditions and their associated vision loss over the coming decades, urgent action is needed to develop innovative treatments and deliver services at a greater scale than previously achieved. Good eye health at the community and national level has been marginalised as a luxury available to only wealthy or urban areas. Eye health needs to be urgently brought into the mainstream of national health and development policy, planning, financing, and action. The challenge is to develop and deliver comprehensive eye health services (promotion, prevention, treatment, rehabilitation) that address the full range of eye conditions within the context of universal health coverage. Accessing services should not bring the risk of falling into poverty and services should be of high quality, as envisaged by the WHO framework for health-care quality: effective, safe, people-centred, timely, equitable, integrated, and efficient. To this framework we add the need for services to be environmentally sustainable. Universal health coverage is not universal without eye care. Multiple obstacles need to be overcome to achieve universal coverage for eye health. Important issues include complex barriers to availability and access to quality services, cost, major shortages and maldistribution of well-trained personnel, and lack of suitable, well maintained equipment and consumables. These issues are particularly widespread in LMICs, but also occur in underserved communities in high-income countries. Strong partnerships need to be formed with natural allies working in areas affected by eye health, such as non-communicable diseases, neglected tropical diseases, healthy ageing, children's services, education, disability, and rehabilitation. The eye health sector has traditionally focused on treatment and rehabilitation, and underused health promotion and prevention strategies to lessen the impact of eye disease and reduce inequality. Solving these problems will depend on solutions established from high quality evidence that can guide more effective implementation at scale. Evidence-based approaches will need to address existing deficiencies in the supply and demand. Strategic investments in discovery research, harnessing new findings from diverse fields, and implementation research to guide effective scale up are needed globally. Encouragingly, developments in telemedicine, mobile health, artificial intelligence, and distance learning could potentially enable eye care professionals to deliver higher quality care that is more plentiful, equitable, and cost-effective. This Commission did a Grand Challenges in Global Eye Health prioritisation exercise to highlight key areas for concerted research and action. This exercise has identified a broad set of challenges spanning the fields of epidemiology, health systems, diagnostics, therapeutics, and implementation. The most compelling of these issues, picked from among 3400 suggestions proposed by 336 people from 118 countries, can help to frame the future research agenda for global eye health. In this Commission, we harness lessons learned from over two decades, present the growing evidence for the life-transforming impact of eye care, and provide a thorough understanding of rapid developments in the field. This report was created through a broad consultation involving experts within and outside the eye care sector to help inform governments and other stakeholders about the path forward for eye health beyond 2020, to further the SDGs (including universal health coverage), and work towards a world without avoidable vision loss. The next few years are a crucial time for the global eye health community and its partners in health care, government, and other sectors to consider the successes and challenges encountered in the past two decades, and at the same time to chart a way forward for the upcoming decades. Moving forward requires building on the strong foundation laid by WHO and partners in VISION 2020 with renewed impetus to ultimately deliver high quality universal eye health care for all.