The VICI trial reported by Lotery et al. is a recent placebo-controlled, randomized trial that examined the efficacy of eplerenone treatment for chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR) in 104 patients. The study found no significant difference in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) between the eplerenone-treated and placebo groups, prompting the VICI investigators to conclude that eplerenone should not be prescribed to treat CSCR. Limitations of the study include the patients' high baseline BCVA, use of a functional outcome like BCVA as the primary endpoint instead of an anatomical outcome, failure to account for rebound effect, and measuring subretinal fluid (SRF) thickness instead of the more informative SRF volume. Based on these reasons and evidence from multiple case series and prospective studies over the past 7 years, it is the opinion of the authors of this editorial that the VICI investigators' conclusion to stop prescribing eplerenone for CSCR is too severe. Future clinical trials should continue to explore the potential for eplerenone as long-term maintenance treatment in chronic CSCR.
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Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina
. 2021;52:308–310.]
SIGNIFICANCE:Teleophthalmology became widely used during the coronavirus 2019 pandemic; however, the quality of this care remains to be understood.
PURPOSE:This study aimed to compare patient satisfaction levels from virtual and in-person visits based on postvisit surveys, as well as investigate demographic characteristics that may predict patient satisfaction with virtual visits.METHODS: Virtual (n = 2943) and in-person (n = 56,175) visits from March 19, 2020, to July 31, 2020, were identified using the electronic health record system. For in-person visits, a random subset of 3000 visits was acquired using a random number generator. Of these, 2266 virtual and 2590 in-person visits met the inclusion criteria. Patients who completed the Telemedicine for Medical Practice Survey and Medical Practice Survey were analyzed in this report. Nonparametric Mann-Whitney test was used to compare scores between groups.RESULTS: Two hundred eleven virtual patients (9.31%; 82 phone, 115 video, 14 hybrid) and 307 in-person patients (11.85%) completed the Telemedicine for Medical Practice Survey and Medical Practice Survey, respectively. Satisfaction scores were similar and high in both groups-virtual visit satisfaction scores averaged 4.82, whereas inperson visit satisfaction averaged 4.85 ( P = .80, θ = 0.501 [0.493 to 0.509]). Only one question yielded significantly different satisfaction scores, and no demographic variables were significant predictors of satisfaction scores.CONCLUSIONS: Patient satisfaction is comparable between virtual and in-person visits, validating the continued usage of telemedicine for eye care visits.
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