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COVID-19 and Charles Bonnet Syndrome

As COVID-19 rips through the country, it is – of course – imperative that we stay at home to try and prevent the virus spreading through the whole community. We are all aware of the need to take special care...

Herpes zoster ophthalmicus: the essentials

Herpes zoster, also referred to as shingles, is a common infection most typically caused by the reactivation of varicella zoster virus that lies dormant (sometime for decades) in the dorsal root nerve ganglion following primary chickenpox infection [1]. In 10-20%...

Usher syndrome: an overview

Usher syndrome is the most common hereditary condition that affects both vision and hearing. It is an autosomal recessive condition characterised by retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and bilateral sensorineural hearing loss [1,2]. Usher syndrome is the cause of approximately 10% of...

Neonatal hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy with imaging abnormalities in the occipital lobe – how to counsel the parents

Case A baby boy, with a background of intrauterine growth restriction, was born at 37 weeks and three days gestation via forceps delivery. The baby was born in poor condition, with low heart rate, poor respiratory rate, poor colour and...

My Top Five: Digital ophthalmology revision resources for medical students

Ophthalmology is a broad and exciting field to study but encountering the vast number of topics it contains for the first time in medical school can be a daunting prospect. Building a solid foundation of knowledge in the subject is...

Randomisation, confounding & observational methods in ophthalmic epidemiology

Randomisation and confounding Understanding the relationship between an exposure and an outcome of interest is the central challenge in ophthalmic epidemiology. The exposure may be aetiological, taking the form of a putative risk biological factor, or therapeutic, in the form...

My Top Five: Ophthalmology Twitter accounts

There are approximately 4.2 billion active social media users worldwide. This figure represents over half of the global population and is steadily rising [1]. There are currently over 217 million active Twitter users and given the platform’s versatility and ability...

My Top Five: Duke Elder Undergraduate Ophthalmology Prize Exam Tips

The prestigious Duke Elder Undergraduate Ophthalmology exam in the UK is aimed at medical students who have completed their ophthalmology undergraduate teaching but is open to all medical undergraduates provided they have not graduated at the time of the examination....

My ophthalmology taster week experience at Whipps Cross Eye Treatment Centre

Deciding to explore ophthalmology Having read about ophthalmology, I have always found myself fascinated about what a career in ophthalmology entails. I have often wondered what ophthalmologists actually do, as we as medical students did not have a lot of...

Ophthalmology elective: a local experience

Dr Rajan Sondh talks about medical electives and how he believes they are an opportunity to explore career interests, giving undergraduates an opportunity to develop skills in areas that they wouldn’t normally encounter on placements. Typically, electives are taken abroad,...

Passing the Refraction Certificate as a Foundation doctor

Application for ophthalmic specialist training (OST) is competitive. This means you should consider making every effort to maximise your portfolio points, as it may have a significant contribution to your OST application ranking. The “Commitment to Specialty” section is the...

The last three patients: general medicine (Patient Two)

For the second reflection in this series (see Patient One here), Professor Jonathan Rees recounts his experiences of the last patient he saw as a medical registrar, telling the tragic story of a young man’s death and the risks that...