Editorial: Experts online - Ken Nischal

I am delighted to be invited to write this editorial for the April issue of EuroTimes, which has a special focus on Paediatric Ophthalmology. As we continue to work under the restraints of COVID-19 pandemic, WSPOS has put a lot of work into maintaining its online presence with regular webinars keeping paediatric and strabismus specialists updated on the latest hot topics in our profession. The WSPOS World Wide Webinars are a forum for discussion where we can all come together to learn from the experts. We believe that expertise resides all over the world so make sure that you visit https://www.wspos.org/world-wide-webinar and join us in this exciting initiative. EuroTimes is also an excellent medium for keeping us up to date and in this issue you can read some excellent insights into paediatric myopia from Dr Soosan Jacob. I would also draw your attention to a very interesting study from Gilles C. Martin MD, MSc, et al. reviewing data collected by French Poison Control Centres during April through August in 2019 and 2020 which identified a sevenfold increase in ABHS-related ocular exposures in children in 2020, compared to 2019. Another very important development is the establishment European Registry of Childhood Cataract (EuReCCa), which aims to improve surgical outcomes in infants and children with cataract. The data collected in EuReCCa will be analysed to identify risk factors for main surgical and postoperative complications and reasons for reoperations. By comparing outcomes associated with different approaches, EuReCCa will help to define standard surgical procedures. Telemedicine has become an integral part of healthcare delivery. While there are definite drawbacks in doing telemedicine for ophthalmology, we need to develop applications that will be robust for both visual acuity testing and fundus photography, but the advent of the smartphone means that we need to harness this technology to improve eye healthcare delivery. That said, disparities in healthcare delivery must be addressed and not accentuated by digital medicine. Finally, it is good to note that vaccination for COVID-19 is continuing world-wide. Together the world is moving forward. We have seen places where there is a marked reduction in people falling sick and dying. It is very important that the vaccination programme is executed in a fair and equitable way and that vaccines are made freely available to everyone and not just those living in the more prosperous nations. We are all in this together, so let us hope that by the end of 2021 we will be in a better and safer place. Dr Ken K Nischal, is Chief of the Division of Paediatric Ophthalmology, Strabismus, and Adult Motility, and Medical Director for Digital Health, at the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, United States, and founding member of WSPOS

Tags: escrs virtual, paediatric telemedicine