Week in review: Telemedicine cost savings, variation in cataract outcomes, therapy for night vision disturbances

A weekly roundup of ophthalmic news from around the web.

Telemedicine screening can be cost effective in lower-income communities. While the use of telemedicine screening in ophthalmology has greatly increased over the last several years, particularly in underserved populations, the cost-effectiveness of these programs has not been widely studied. Researchers conducted a chart review of 2251 patients enrolled in the diabetic retinopathy (DR) telemedicine screening program at Montefiore Health System (Bronx, NY), 519 of whom were found to have DR. The cost-effectiveness model applied to the data yielded an estimated cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) of $57,778/QALY for DR and $35,471/QALY for all ophthalmic diseases detected, with an estimated total cost savings of $124,736. The cost per QALY fell well within the thresholds set, indicating that the telemedicine screening program was cost effective while providing benefits to an underserved population. Clinical Ophthalmology

Higher-income countries see better outcomes after cataract surgery. A systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated global variations in post–cataract surgery outcomes, including visual acuity, based on country income. Thirty-five studies were included. Although there are limited data on postsurgical outcomes from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) other than China and India, in general fewer patients in LMICs had postsurgical visual acuity ≥0.32 than patients in higher-income countries, and only about half the surgeries in LMICs resulted in a presenting VA ≥6/18. To improve these outcomes, the authors recommend that “actions to integrate and coordinate the continuous medical care for postoperative patients, development of standardized follow-up process, and financial support for the patients and health institutions should be implemented.” British Journal of Ophthalmology

A treatment for night vision disturbances shows good efficacy in a phase 3 trial. Topline results from the phase 3, placebo-controlled LYNX-1 clinical trial, conducted in 145 patients with night vision disturbances, found that more patients who were randomized to Nyxol (0.75% phentolamine ophthalmic solution) had a gain of ≥15 letters in distance vision than patients randomized to placebo (13% vs 3% at day 8, respectively, and 21% vs 3% at day 15, respectively). No serious adverse events were reported. Full study results will be presented at upcoming medical meetings. Ocular Surgery News, ClinicalTrials.gov