Remote Diagnosis of Retinal Detachment in an Emergency Department Using Nonmydriatic Hybrid Ocular Imaging

Background: Ocular emergencies are commonly evaluated in general emergency departments (ED) where ophthalmologists are rarely available. Nonmydriatic ocular imaging combining color fundus photographs and optical coherence tomography (NMFP-OCT) can help with rapid remote triage by ophthalmologists. We evaluated the rate at which retinal detachments (RDs) can be diagnosed with NMFP-OCT in the ED. Methods: Quality improvement project with prospective collection of data on RD patients who had NMFP-OCT obtained by ED staff over 1 year. Photographs were interpreted remotely by ophthalmologists and all patients underwent an in-person ophthalmologic examination in the ED to confirm the presence of a RD. Results: A total of 63 eyes (58 patients) had a RD, among which 53 (84.1%) had strong suggestion of RD on ocular imaging (34 [54%] were seen on both color and OCT nerve/macula; 11 [17.5%] were seen on color but missed on OCT; 8 [12.7%] were missed on color but seen on OCT). Ten RDs (15.9%) were missed on both color and OCT because of peripheral location of the RD (4, 40%), vitreous hemorrhage (4, 40%), or poor image quality (2, 20%). A total of 40 out of 58 patients were not seen by an eye care provider prior to reaching our ED and 10 had an inappropriate stroke workup for acute vision loss of presumed vascular origin. Conclusion: NMFP-OCT of the posterior pole obtained by ED staff revealed the RD in 84.1% of eyes, allowing for rapid remote triage of patients with visual symptoms and avoiding unnecessary testing when the diagnosis of RD is confirmed.