Improved Outcomes in Patients with Retinal Detachment after Implementation of a Silicone Oil Registry and Phone Call Reminder System

Purpose This retrospective study was performed to assess the clinical impact in reducing silicone oil (SO)–related complications such as keratopathy of a registry and appointment reminder system for patients with complicated retinal detachment (RD) who underwent pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) with SO tamponade. Design Retrospective cohort study. Participants A total of 87 eyes of 87 patients who received SO tamponade were included. Methods The study was carried out at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (ZSFG). Patients were divided into those who received SO before (control group, n = 48) or after (treatment group, n = 39) implementation of an SO registry and patient reminder system in 2014. Patient records were reviewed to identify clinical characteristics and outcomes. Main Outcome Measures The primary outcome measure was the difference in the rate of loss to follow-up before versus after the implementation of the registry and reminder system. Secondary outcomes were the duration of SO tamponade, keratopathy rate, and intraocular pressure (IOP) at the last visit before SO removal. Results Forty-eight patients were included in the control group, and 39 patients were included in the treatment group. The number of patients lost to follow-up was 23 (47.9%) in the control group versus 6 (15.4%) in the treatment group ( P  = 0.0015). The mean duration before SO removal was 79.6±91.7 weeks in the control group and 36.3±31.5 weeks in the treatment group (mean±standard deviation [SD]) ( P  = 0.015). Keratopathy developed in 33.3% of patients in the control group and 12.8% of patients in the treatment group ( P  = 0.0425). Mean IOP at the last visit before SO removal was 13.0±5.2 mmHg (mean±SD) in the control group and 13.3±7 mmHg (mean±SD) in the treatment group ( P > 0.05). Conclusions A phone call appointment reminder system for patients with complicated RD who underwent PPV and SO tamponade reduced the rate of loss to follow-up and the duration of SO tamponade, correlating with a reduction in the rate of keratopathy.