Abstract P16: Alteplase Within 4.5 Hours via Telemedicine and In-Person for Central or Branch Retinal Artery Occlusion vs Medical Management

Introduction: Central or branch retinal artery occlusion (CRAO/BRAO) results in acute monocular vision loss. Only one prospective study of IV tPA use within 4.5 hours with a recent updated patient-level meta-analysis showed favorable visual outcomes but long-term visual outcomes were not reported. We evaluated the use of IV tPA within 4.5 hours for CRAO/BRAO vs medical management and assessed 90-day visual outcomes. Given the increasing use of telemedicine (TM), we also assessed the diagnostic accuracy of CRAO/BRAO evaluated via TM vs in-person. Methods: Data were retrospectively abstracted for CRAO/BRAO treated with IV tPA vs medical management within a large managed healthcare system. 90-day visual outcomes were reported as Low Vision (no light perception, light perception, hand motion, finger counting) and mean LogMAR, which was converted from Snellen, and classified as normal-mild impairment (LogMAR 0.4-0.5), moderate-severe impairment (LogMAR 0.6-1.3) and blind-low vision (LogMAR >1.3). Visual outcomes were analyzed using the Wilcoxon rank-sum and signed-rank tests. Results: Between 2012-2019, 21 patients received IV tPA within 4.5 hours for presumed CRAO/BRAO vs 34 medically managed. One patient evaluated via TM and one patient evaluated in-person were misdiagnosed and excluded from analysis. Of those accurately diagnosed and treated with IV tPA, 15 were evaluated via TM and 4 in-person. At 90 days, intragroup analysis revealed at least a one-point improvement on the Low Vision scale (68% tPA, p= 0.007 vs 30% non-tPA, p=0.63) and the LogMAR scale (32% tPA, p=0.03 vs 12% non-tPA, p=0.38) with 26% of tPA patients having normal-mild impairment in vision vs 9% in non-tPA patients. Initial to 90-day vison on the Low Vision scale showed visual improvement in the tPA group (p=0.001) and a trend towards improvement on the LogMAR scale (p=0.07). Conclusions: Similar to a recent prospective study with patient level meta-analysis, we found that IV tPA within 4.5 hours for CRAO/BRAO may lead to improved visual outcomes at 90 days compared to medical management. Diagnostic accuracy of CRAO/BRAO was similar irrespective of method of being evaluated via TM or in-person. Our study was limited by small sample size and retrospective design.