{"title":"Endophthalmitis following intravitreal injections administered by junior medical officers in rural Western Australia.","authors":"Jackson Chee Chea Lee, Hessom Razavi, Marcel Maziyar Nejatian, Jocelyn Drinkwater, Angus Warwick Turner","doi":"10.1111/ceo.14421","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Patients in rural Australia have limited access to intravitreal treatments due to a maldistribution of the ophthalmology workforce. To improve access, a novel outreach service model was implemented whereby junior medical staff administered intravitreal injections under a supervising ophthalmology consultant. This model involves outreach visits in hospitals, mobile clinics and a remote hub with intravitreal injections administered by junior doctors overseen by an ophthalmologist. The article explores the safety of this approach with respect to the rate of post-injection endophthalmitis.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A retrospective audit was conducted by the Lions Outback Vision outreach ophthalmology service from 2017 to mid-2023. The number of injections, locations, diagnoses, intravitreal agents used, designation of administering doctor and cases of endophthalmitis were reviewed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A 12 632 intravitreal injections were administered across 32 locations throughout rural Western Australia in the 6.5-year period. Three cases of endophthalmitis occurred representing a rate of 0.0237%.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The rate of endophthalmitis in the outreach service is comparable to other centres. The outreach model with supervising ophthalmology consultant support in person or via telehealth and administration of injections by junior medical staff has improved access for underserved or marginalised populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":55253,"journal":{"name":"Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.9000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ceo.14421","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/7/25 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"OPHTHALMOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Patients in rural Australia have limited access to intravitreal treatments due to a maldistribution of the ophthalmology workforce. To improve access, a novel outreach service model was implemented whereby junior medical staff administered intravitreal injections under a supervising ophthalmology consultant. This model involves outreach visits in hospitals, mobile clinics and a remote hub with intravitreal injections administered by junior doctors overseen by an ophthalmologist. The article explores the safety of this approach with respect to the rate of post-injection endophthalmitis.
Methods: A retrospective audit was conducted by the Lions Outback Vision outreach ophthalmology service from 2017 to mid-2023. The number of injections, locations, diagnoses, intravitreal agents used, designation of administering doctor and cases of endophthalmitis were reviewed.
Results: A 12 632 intravitreal injections were administered across 32 locations throughout rural Western Australia in the 6.5-year period. Three cases of endophthalmitis occurred representing a rate of 0.0237%.
Conclusion: The rate of endophthalmitis in the outreach service is comparable to other centres. The outreach model with supervising ophthalmology consultant support in person or via telehealth and administration of injections by junior medical staff has improved access for underserved or marginalised populations.
期刊介绍:
Clinical & Experimental Ophthalmology is the official journal of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists. The journal publishes peer-reviewed original research and reviews dealing with all aspects of clinical practice and research which are international in scope and application. CEO recognises the importance of collaborative research and welcomes papers that have a direct influence on ophthalmic practice but are not unique to ophthalmology.