Zoom CE Urgent/Emergent: How Do You Know?
On March 1, 2021, Retina Consultants of Texas presented a virtual CE webinar on the challenges that ophthalmologists and retina specialists face when determining whether or not a patient is experiencing a medical emergency that requires urgent intervention. Hosted by Dr. James Major, the webinar was split into three different presentations featuring a wide range of retinal cases.
Before beginning the webinar, Dr. Major kicked things off with a few announcements regarding our new flagship location and research center in Bellaire, TX, as well as our newest physician, Dr. Kelly Larkin, an ocular immunologist and uveitis specialist. He then began the evening with the first presentation.
Presentation #1: Retinal Detachment
Using several cases referred to Retina Consultants of Texas, Dr. Major gave a comprehensive overview of posterior vitreous detachment, retinal hemorrhaging, and retinal tears. These cases helped to illustrate what doctors need to look for when determining whether a patient is having an urgent vision issue that needs immediate treatment. Dr. Major also discussed pseudophakic retinal detachment and outlined what physicians need to be most aware of when making a diagnosis.
He then went through a rapid-fire segment in which he showed the panel a series of images and asked them to quickly determine whether or not the case was urgent. Dr. Eric Chen, Dr. Amy Schiefer, Dr. David Brown, Dr. Sagar Patel, and Dr. Rosa Kim all offered their insight during this segment.
Presentation #2: Acute Postoperative Endophthalmitis
Next, Dr. Sagar Patel walked us through factors to consider when diagnosing and assessing treatment options for acute postoperative endophthalmitis. Dr. Patel discussed the common symptoms, what doctors are likely to see during eye exams, and offered insight into the evaluation process as well as differential diagnosis. He also spoke about the microbial characteristics of endophthalmitis that physicians should be most aware of.
Next, Dr. Patel discussed the various treatment options that can be used in the management of endophthalmitis, including antibiotics and steroid injections. He also touched on the clinical features and management of chronic postoperative endophthalmitis.
Presentation #3: Retinal Artery Occlusions
The last presentation of the webinar was given by Dr. Ankoor Shah. Entitled “When the Flow Stops,” Dr. Shah’s presentation featured images from a few different cases of central or branch retinal artery occlusion (CRAO and BRAO). After going through the epidemiology of retinal artery occlusions, he discussed some key clinical findings as well as the many treatment options that are available. However, because there are so many factors to consider when addressing CRAO or BRAO, determining treatment can be difficult.
Dr. Shah also pointed out that patients with retinal artery occlusion are at a greater risk of having a cerebral stroke in the near future, which ultimately changes how doctors should approach both short- and long-term treatments. The panel then discussed how patients with CRAO must often be referred to a stroke center or emergency room.
You can watch the full Zoom video here. To attend Retina Consultants of Texas’s next CE Zoom event, please register here for updates.
