Seeing Solutions: Eye Examinations at the Point of Care to Reduce Mortality and Blindness in the Global Epidemic of HIV/AIDS

Session Date: April 21, 2021

Session Description: AIDS-related CMV (cytomegalovirus) retinitis is a common clinical problem in patients with advanced HIV/AIDS in resource-limited settings, including most HIV/AIDS clinics in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe. The disease causes >90% of AIDS-related blindness and contributes to mortality. Importantly, TB also can be detected in the eye. Diagnostic capacity for both diseases is inadequate and timely access to specialty care is typically not available. This session reports on tools, curricula, and findings from more than 30 workshops conducted across eight countries over the past 14 years to build the eye exam into HIV/AIDS care settings. The solution is the transfer of skills and tools to the point of care HIV clinician. A four-day workshop in indirect ophthalmoscopy prepares front-line HIV staff to diagnose CMV retinitis and TB. The easy-to-perform eye exam increases the detection of CMV retinitis approximately tenfold. This strategy identifies CMV and TB within days of the person with HIV first entering medical care, thus permitting early treatment and better outcomes. Join us to learn more about this tested approach and to see what’s on the horizon to reach AIDS patients with this approach to diagnose and save lives.

Session File(s)

• Seeing Solutions: Eye Examinations at the Point of Care to Reduce Mortality and Blindness in the Global Epidemic of HIV/AIDS PPT.pdf
• Cytomegalovirus Retinitis: The Neglected Disease of the AIDS Pandemic
• Eye examination for early diagnosis of disseminated tuberculosis in patients with AIDS
• 1 million people undiagnosed, untreated for tuberculosis in 2020