Nonmydriatic ocular fundus photography in the emergency department.

To the Editor: Examination of the ocular fundus is imperative in the diagnosis and treatment of many acute medical and neurologic conditions, but direct ophthalmoscopy is underused and difficult to perform without pharmacologic pupillary dilation.1,2 We believe that nonmydriatic ocular fundus photography (i.e., performed without pupillary dilation) represents a promising alternative to direct ophthalmoscopy, particularly in the emergency department, where limited training in ophthalmoscopy, increased demands on physicians' time, and underappreciation of the prognostic value of ocular fundus examination can place patients at risk for poor outcomes and expose their caregivers to medicolegal liability.1,3 The FOTO-ED (Fundus Photography . . .

[1]  R. Al‐Shahi Salman,et al.  Emergency department evaluation of sudden, severe headache. , 2008, QJM : monthly journal of the Association of Physicians.

[2]  P. Massin,et al.  Evaluation of a new non‐mydriatic digital camera for detection of diabetic retinopathy , 2003, Diabetic medicine : a journal of the British Diabetic Association.

[3]  D. King,et al.  Funduscopy: a forgotten art? , 1999, Postgraduate medical journal.

[4]  G Chaine,et al.  Benefits of Ophdiat, a telemedical network to screen for diabetic retinopathy: a retrospective study in five reference hospital centres. , 2009, Diabetes & metabolism.