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New Zealand survey finds ophthalmologists mostly agree on cornea treatments
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International guidelines for the management of infectious keratitis are generally being followed by New Zealand ophthalmologists, according to a survey. The survey’s authors note that the variations they identified in disease management can provide grounds for discussion and improvement in guidelines.
Penny McAllum, MB, ChB, and Charles McGhee, PhD, FRCOphth surveyed all 93 ophthalmologists in New Zealand, of whom 80.6% responded. Of those in clinical practice, 91.4% regularly treat patients with corneal disease. Of those, 12.5% identified themselves as having a subspecialty interest in cornea.
In some conditions, prescribing practice varied “dramatically,” the study authors said, but in other conditions there was a high degree of agreement among the ophthalmologists surveyed.
No statistically significant differences in prescribing habits were identified between subspecialist and non-subspecialist groups, although some important clinical differences emerged, the authors noted. Marked differences occurred upon occasion when the age group of the respondents was considered, particularly in the treatment of adenoviral infections and bacterial keratitis.
The survey is published in the December issue of Clinical & Experimental Ophthalmology.