"Acute Vision Loss" in Patients Presenting to a Large Emergency Department: Impact of a Hybrid Non-Mydriatic Ocular Fundus Camera With Optical Coherence Tomography

The chief complaint of "acute vision loss" in the emergency department (ED) may reveal serious ocular and neurologic diagnoses requiring immediate evaluation. However, evaluation of such patients is often delayed and ED stays prolonged because ophthalmologists on-call are typically not on-site, frequently simultaneously covering multiple facilities. We implemented a hybrid nonmydriatic ocular color fundus camera combined with optical coherence tomography (NMFP-OCT) in our large general ED with the goal of facilitating rapid diagnosis of ocular emergencies and avoiding in-person consultations when the examination is normal. We hypothesize that incorporating NMFP-OCT into the workflow of a large general ED, combined with a list of triage questions for "acute vision loss", will facilitate rapid identification of ocular emergencies (e.g., acute central retinal artery occlusion [CRAO]), and reduce length of stay in the ED.