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Purpose: To quantitatively compare retinal vascular characteristics over time in eyes eventually treated versus not treated for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), using ROPtool analysis of narrow-field retinal images., Methods: This longitudinal study used prospectively collected narrow-field retinal images of infants screened for ROP, prior to treatment, if needed. Images were analyzed using a methodology that combines quadrant-level measures from several images of the same eye. For the longitudinal analysis, one examination per postmenstrual age (PMA) was included per eye. We compared the following ROPtool indices and their change per week between eyes eventually treated versus not treated for ROP: tortuosity index (TI), dilation index (DI), sum of adjusted indices (SAI), and tortuosity-weighted plus (TWP). Analysis was performed on three levels: eye (mean value/eye), quadrant (highest quadrant value/eye), and blood vessel (highest blood vessel value/eye)., Results: Of 832 examinations (99 infants), 745 images (89.5%) had 3-4 quadrants analyzable by ROPtool. On the eye level, ROPtool indices differed between eyes eventually treated versus not treated at PMA of 33-35 and 37 weeks for TI, SAI, and TWP, and at PMA of 33-34 and 37 weeks for DI (P ≤ 0.0014), and change per week differed between eyes eventually treated versus not treated only for SAI at PMA of 32 weeks (P < 0.001)., Conclusions: Quantitative analysis of retinal vascular characteristics using ROPtool can help predict eventual need for treatment for ROP as early as 32 weeks PMA. ROPtool index values were more useful than change in these indices to predict eyes that would eventually need treatment for ROP., (Copyright © 2021 American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The presence of plus disease is important in determining when to treat retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), but the diagnosis of plus disease is subjective. Semiautomated computer programs (eg, ROPtool) can objectively measure retinal vascular characteristics in retinal images, but are limited by image quality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether ROPtool can accurately identify pre-plus and plus disease in narrow-field images of varying qualities using a new methodology that combines quadrant-level data from multiple images of a single retina., Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of previously collected narrow-field retinal images of infants screened for ROP. Using one imaging session per infant, we evaluated the ability of ROPtool to analyze images using our new methodology and the accuracy of ROPtool indices (tortuosity index [TI], maximum tortuosity [T max ], dilation index [DI], maximum dilation [D max ], sum of adjusted indices [SAI], and tortuosity-weighted plus [TWP]) to identify pre-plus and plus disease in images compared to clinical examination findings., Results: Of 198 eyes (from 99 infants) imaged, 769/792 quadrants (98%) were analyzable. Overall, 98% of eyes had 3-4 analyzable quadrants. For plus disease, area under the curves (AUCs) of receiver operating characteristic curves were: TWP (0.98) > TI (0.97) = T max (0.97) > SAI (0.96) > DI (0.88) > D max (0.84). For pre-plus or plus disease, AUCs were: TWP (0.95) > TI (0.94) = T max (0.94) = SAI (0.94) > DI (0.86) > D max (0.83)., Conclusions: Using a novel methodology combining quadrant-level data, ROPtool can analyze narrow-field images of varying quality to identify pre-plus and plus disease with high accuracy., (Copyright © 2020 American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To define current use patterns of Facebook and Twitter among pharmacy preceptors and assess perceptions regarding use of social media within professional practice., Methods: An electronic survey instrument was sent to 315 pharmacists registered as advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) preceptors for Purdue University College of Pharmacy., Results: Approximately 60% of the 155 respondents used a Facebook account and 9% used a Twitter account. Respondents were willing to complete continuing education (CE) credit (46%) using social media, and were interested in following professional organizations (39%) on social media; however, the majority were not interested in obtaining drug or disease-state information, identifying employment opportunities, or participating in clinical discussion forums via social media., Conclusion: Despite the growing popularity of social media across multiple disciplines, the majority of pharmacy preceptors surveyed were not willing to use these venues in professional practice.