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Background: In the UK, the Certificate of Vision Impairment (CVI) certifies a person as sight impaired (partially sighted) or severely sight impaired (blind). This is completed by ophthalmologists and passed with the patient’s consent to their GP, their local authority, and The Royal College of Ophthalmologists Certifications office. Once a person is certified, they can be registered by their local authority which is voluntary but enables the person to access rehabilitation or habitation services, financial concessions, welfare benefits and other services provided by local authorities. Methods: We conducted semi-structured individual interviews with 17 patients with a diagnosed eye condition, 4 Eye Clinic Liaison Officers (ECLO) and 4 referring optometrists around their experiences around CVI and registration processes. Analysis of themes was conducted with results synthesised in a narrative analysis. Results: Patients reported lack of clarity around the processes of certification and registration, benefits of certification and what happens beyond certification, the type of support that they are entitled to, delays in accessing support. Optometrists appear not to engage with the process much, especially if the patient is being treated by the hospital eye service. Conclusion: Vision loss can be a devastating experience for the patient. There is a lack of information and confusion around the process. The lack of a joined-up process between certification and registration needs to be addressed if we are to provide the support that patients deserve in order to improve their quality of life and wellbeing.

Background/Objectives: Ophthalmic disorders cause 8% of hospital clinic attendances, the highest of any specialty. The fundamental need for a distance visual acuity (VA) measurement constrains remote consultation. A web-application, DigiVis, facilitates self-assessment of VA using two internet-connected devices. This prospective validation study aimed to establish its accuracy, reliability, usability and acceptability. Subjects/Methods: In total, 120 patients aged 5–87 years (median = 27) self-tested their vision twice using DigiVis in addition to their standard clinical assessment. Eyes with VA worse than +0.80 logMAR were excluded. Accuracy and test-retest (TRT) variability were compared using Bland–Altman analysis and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Patient feedback was analysed. Results: Bias between VA tests was insignificant at −0.001 (95% CI −0.017 to 0.015) logMAR. The upper limit of agreement (LOA) was 0.173 (95% CI 0.146 to 0.201) and the lower LOA −0.175 (95% CI −0.202 to −0.147) logMAR. The ICC was 0.818 (95% CI 0.748 to 0.869). DigiVis TRT mean bias was similarly insignificant, at 0.001 (95% CI −0.011 to 0.013) logMAR, the upper LOA was 0.124 (95% CI 0.103 to 0.144) and the lower LOA −0.121 (95% CI −0.142 to −0.101) logMAR. The ICC was 0.922 (95% CI 0.887 to 0.946). 95% of subjects were willing to use DigiVis to monitor vision at home. Conclusions: Self-tested distance VA using DigiVis is accurate, reliable and well accepted by patients. The app has potential to facilitate home monitoring, triage and remote consultation but widescale implementation will require integration with NHS databases and secure patient data storage.

Background: A variety of shared care models have been developed, which aim to stratify glaucoma patients according to risk of disease progression. However, there is limited published data on the rate of glaucoma progression in the hospital vs community setting. Here we aimed to compare rates of glaucomatous visual field progression in the Cambridge Community Optometrist Glaucoma Scheme (COGS) and Addenbrooke’s Hospital Glaucoma Clinic (AGC). Methods: A retrospective comparative cohort review was performed. Patients with five or more visual field tests were included. Zeiss Forum software was used to calculate the MD progression rate (dB/year). Loss of sight years (LSY) were also calculated for both COGS and AGC. Results: Overall, 8465 visual field tests from 854 patients were reviewed. In all, 362 eyes from the AGC group and 210 eyes from COGS were included. The MD deterioration rate was significantly lower in the COGS patients compared with the AGC group (−0.1 vs −0.3 dB/year; p< 0.0001). No patients in the COGS group were predicted to become blind within their lifetime by LSY analysis. Fifteen patients were at risk in the AGC group. Conclusion: This service evaluation shows that COGS is an effective scheme to stratify lower risk glaucoma patients, increasing the capacity within hospital eye services. COGS patients have a lower rate of visual field deterioration compared to AGC patients. Effective communication between community and tertiary schemes is essential to facilitate transfer of patients requiring further hospital management reliably and efficiently, with the potential for low-risk patients to be followed safely in the community.

This paper traces the evolving institutional and policy responses to the social, environmental and economic needs of stakeholders in the Murray-Darling Basin. The paper begins by describing four cycles of challenge and response in the basin: the first period (1830-1900) witnessed the state-level development of irrigation and navigation in the basin; the second period (1900-1982) encompassed the construction of the basin's major engineering projects and irrigation infrastructure; the third period (1982-2007) covered the institution of market reforms under a 'whole Basin' management approach, in particular, the development of inter-state water trading and the National Water Initiative; and the fourth phase (2007-present), marks the assertion of federal authority over water management with the passing of the Water Act in 2007. The second section of the paper provides background on the basin's natural environment and its infrastructure. This section also describes the increasing centralization of basin management authority by the federal government. The paper's final section presents three key questions for the basin's future: (1) the politically acceptable balance between environmental and economic uses for water in the basin; (2) the appropriate allocation of responsibility between federal and state basin management authorities; and (3) the best way to deliver the desired environmental outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACTEscherichia coli(328 isolates), Klebsiella pneumoniae(296), Klebsiella oxytoca(44), and Proteus mirabilis(33) isolates collected during 2012 from the nine U.S. census regions and displaying extended-spectrum-β-lactamase (ESBL) phenotypes were evaluated for the presence of β-lactamase genes, and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles were analyzed. The highest ESBL rates were noted for K. pneumoniae(16.0%, versus 4.8 to 11.9% for the other species) and in the Mid-Atlantic and West South Central census regions. CTX-M group 1 (including CTX-M-15) was detected in 303 strains and was widespread throughout the United States but was more prevalent in the West South Central, Mid-Atlantic, and East North Central regions. KPC producers (118 strains [112 K. pneumoniaestrains]) were detected in all regions and were most frequent in the Mid-Atlantic region (58 strains). Thirteen KPC producers also carried blaCTX-M. SHV genes encoding ESBL activity were detected among 176 isolates. Other β-lactamase genes observed were CTX-M group 9 (72 isolates), FOX (10), TEM ESBL (9), DHA (7), CTX-M group 2 (3), NDM-1 (2 [Colorado]), and CTX-M groups 8 and 25 (1). Additionally, 62.9% of isolates carried ≥2 β-lactamase genes. KPC producers were highly resistant to multiple agents, but ceftazidime-avibactam (MIC50/90, 0.5/2 μg/ml) and tigecycline (MIC50/90, 0.5/1 μg/ml) were the most active agents tested. Overall, meropenem (MIC50, ≤0.06 μg/ml), ceftazidime-avibactam (MIC50, 0.12 to 0.5 μg/ml), and tigecycline (MIC50, 0.12 to 2 μg/ml) were the most active antimicrobials when tested against this collection. NDM-1 producers were resistant to all β-lactams tested. The diversity and increasing prevalence of β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceaehave been documented, and ceftazidime-avibactam was very active against the vast majority of β-lactamase-producing strains isolated from U.S. hospitals.

ABSTRACTEnterobacteriaceaebacteremia isolates (n= 195; 6.4% overall) collected from 26 U.S. hospitals located in 20 states were screened for various β-lactamase classes. A total of 175 isolates carried one to eight acquired β-lactamase genes of 44 types that were detected in 55 combinations. Eighty-five (43.6%) strains carried blaCTX-M, and blaCTX-M-15was the most prevalent (33.8%). Genes encoding OXA-1/30 (often associated with blaCTX-M-15), CMY-2, SHV extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBLs), and TEM-1 were also prevalent. Among 33 carbapenem-resistant strains, 28 carried blaKPC-2or blaKPC-3(17 and 11 strains, respectively), and those were recovered mostly in the New York City area (16 strains) and Houston, TX (9 strains). Fourteen new SHV variants were identified among Klebsiella pneumoniaeisolates carrying one or multiple SHV alleles, three carrying G238S and/or E240K amino acid alterations that confer ESBL activity. Only two of eight K. oxytocaisolates carried acquired β-lactamases, but most had mutations on the blaOXYpromoter region, and three new OXY-encoding genes were characterized. Concordance between a commercial nucleic acid-based microarray (Check-MDR CT101) and reference methods was noted for 105/109 (97.2%) strains. Thirty-two strains having genes that are not targeted by the commercial system were detected (OXA ESBLs, PER, PSE, or intrinsic genes). Overall, a great variety of enzymes were observed, with numerous strains carrying multiple genes. Rates of CTX-M-producing strains appear to be increasing in U.S. hospitals (26.6% in 2007 to 43.8% for 2010) participating in the SENTRY Program. Furthermore, the Check-Points system seems to be a reliable, robust, and user-friendly assay for detection of enzyme-mediated resistance.

“This study provides a prototype of parish nurse program development.”

The incidence of tardive dyskinesia as a side effect of antipsychotic medications is well documented in the literature on the treatment for schizophrenia. Although the new generation of atypical neuroleptics helps diminish the incidence of such side effects, a complete elimination has yet to be fully realized. Nurses continually observe and assess patients. As such, nurses in all settings can effectively contribute to both preventative and palliative care of the patient who is about to receive or is currently receiving antipsychotic medications. Familiarity with the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) and expertise in the application of AIMS in patient assessment assist in these important prevention efforts.

The article discusses the efficiency of the diabetic maculopathy clinics in Bedfordshire in Great Britain. It cites the characteristics of a patient who is suitable for optometrist-led clinics. It outlines the objectives of the audit done on the Bedfordshire clinics. It describes the National Health Service (NHS) Diabetic Eye Screening Programme quality standards.