Development of a screening eye clinic for Ebola virus disease survivors: Lessons learned and rapid implementation at ELWA Hospital in Monrovia, Liberia 2015.
BACKGROUND:In the wake of the West African Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak of 2014-2016, thousands of EVD survivors began to manifest a constellation of systemic and ophthalmic sequelae. Besides systemic arthralgias, myalgias, and abdominal pain, patients were developing uveitis, a spectrum of in...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:1a6c1721a9944b4da08cb753c6d40a75 2023-05-15T15:16:22+02:00 Development of a screening eye clinic for Ebola virus disease survivors: Lessons learned and rapid implementation at ELWA Hospital in Monrovia, Liberia 2015. Jessica G Shantha Brent R Hayek Ian Crozier Catherine Gargu Robert Dolo Jerry Brown John Fankhauser Steven Yeh 2019-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007209 https://doaj.org/article/1a6c1721a9944b4da08cb753c6d40a75 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC6476518?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0007209 https://doaj.org/article/1a6c1721a9944b4da08cb753c6d40a75 PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 13, Iss 3, p e0007209 (2019) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007209 2022-12-31T13:23:20Z BACKGROUND:In the wake of the West African Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak of 2014-2016, thousands of EVD survivors began to manifest a constellation of systemic and ophthalmic sequelae. Besides systemic arthralgias, myalgias, and abdominal pain, patients were developing uveitis, a spectrum of inflammatory eye disease leading to eye pain, redness, and vision loss. To investigate this emerging eye disease, resources and equipment were needed to promptly evaluate this sight-threatening condition, particularly given our identification of Ebola virus in the ocular fluid of an EVD survivor during disease convalescence. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:A collaborative effort involving ophthalmologists, infectious disease specialists, eye care nurses, and physician leadership at Eternal Love Winning Africa (ELWA) Hospital in Liberia led to the development of a unique screening eye clinic for EVD survivors to screen, treat, and refer patients for more definitive care. Medications, resources, and equipment were procured from a variety of sources including discount websites, donations, purchasing with humanitarian discounts, and limited retail to develop a screening eye clinic and rapidly perform detailed ophthalmologic exams. Findings were documented in 96 EVD survivors to inform public health officials and eye care providers of the emerging disease process. Personal protective equipment was tailored to the environment and implications of EBOV persistence within intraocular fluid. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:A screening eye clinic was feasible and effective for the rapid screening, care, and referral of EVD survivors with uveitis and retinal disease. Patients were screened promptly for an initial assessment of the disease process, which has informed other efforts within West Africa related to immediate patient care needs and our collective understanding of EVD sequelae. Further attention is needed to understand the pathogensis and treatment of ophthalmic sequelae given recent EVD outbreaks in West Africa and ongoing ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 13 3 e0007209 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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English |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Jessica G Shantha Brent R Hayek Ian Crozier Catherine Gargu Robert Dolo Jerry Brown John Fankhauser Steven Yeh Development of a screening eye clinic for Ebola virus disease survivors: Lessons learned and rapid implementation at ELWA Hospital in Monrovia, Liberia 2015. |
topic_facet |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
BACKGROUND:In the wake of the West African Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak of 2014-2016, thousands of EVD survivors began to manifest a constellation of systemic and ophthalmic sequelae. Besides systemic arthralgias, myalgias, and abdominal pain, patients were developing uveitis, a spectrum of inflammatory eye disease leading to eye pain, redness, and vision loss. To investigate this emerging eye disease, resources and equipment were needed to promptly evaluate this sight-threatening condition, particularly given our identification of Ebola virus in the ocular fluid of an EVD survivor during disease convalescence. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:A collaborative effort involving ophthalmologists, infectious disease specialists, eye care nurses, and physician leadership at Eternal Love Winning Africa (ELWA) Hospital in Liberia led to the development of a unique screening eye clinic for EVD survivors to screen, treat, and refer patients for more definitive care. Medications, resources, and equipment were procured from a variety of sources including discount websites, donations, purchasing with humanitarian discounts, and limited retail to develop a screening eye clinic and rapidly perform detailed ophthalmologic exams. Findings were documented in 96 EVD survivors to inform public health officials and eye care providers of the emerging disease process. Personal protective equipment was tailored to the environment and implications of EBOV persistence within intraocular fluid. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:A screening eye clinic was feasible and effective for the rapid screening, care, and referral of EVD survivors with uveitis and retinal disease. Patients were screened promptly for an initial assessment of the disease process, which has informed other efforts within West Africa related to immediate patient care needs and our collective understanding of EVD sequelae. Further attention is needed to understand the pathogensis and treatment of ophthalmic sequelae given recent EVD outbreaks in West Africa and ongoing ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jessica G Shantha Brent R Hayek Ian Crozier Catherine Gargu Robert Dolo Jerry Brown John Fankhauser Steven Yeh |
author_facet |
Jessica G Shantha Brent R Hayek Ian Crozier Catherine Gargu Robert Dolo Jerry Brown John Fankhauser Steven Yeh |
author_sort |
Jessica G Shantha |
title |
Development of a screening eye clinic for Ebola virus disease survivors: Lessons learned and rapid implementation at ELWA Hospital in Monrovia, Liberia 2015. |
title_short |
Development of a screening eye clinic for Ebola virus disease survivors: Lessons learned and rapid implementation at ELWA Hospital in Monrovia, Liberia 2015. |
title_full |
Development of a screening eye clinic for Ebola virus disease survivors: Lessons learned and rapid implementation at ELWA Hospital in Monrovia, Liberia 2015. |
title_fullStr |
Development of a screening eye clinic for Ebola virus disease survivors: Lessons learned and rapid implementation at ELWA Hospital in Monrovia, Liberia 2015. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Development of a screening eye clinic for Ebola virus disease survivors: Lessons learned and rapid implementation at ELWA Hospital in Monrovia, Liberia 2015. |
title_sort |
development of a screening eye clinic for ebola virus disease survivors: lessons learned and rapid implementation at elwa hospital in monrovia, liberia 2015. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007209 https://doaj.org/article/1a6c1721a9944b4da08cb753c6d40a75 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 13, Iss 3, p e0007209 (2019) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC6476518?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0007209 https://doaj.org/article/1a6c1721a9944b4da08cb753c6d40a75 |
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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007209 |
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PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
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13 |
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3 |
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e0007209 |
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