European cornea transplantation database up and running

The European Cornea and Cell Transplantation Registry (ECCTR) is now actively recruiting cornea surgeons to its web-based system, reported project manager Lucia Brocato at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) 2018 Annual Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii. The registry incorporates one of the largest web-based databases in the field. The ECCTR will offer surgeons a tool for quality improvement by comparison and benchmarking with state-of-the-art epidemiological data. Surgeons of all levels of experience can monitor their own results and compare them with results from their own regions as well as results throughout Europe, she told EuroTimes. In addition to helping single surgeons monitor individual results, the three-year project has a number of broader ambitious goals. The developers hope that the project will help to build a common assessment methodology and establish an EU web-based registry and network for academics, health professionals and authorities to assess and verify the safety quality and efficacy of corneal transplantation in ophthalmic surgery. Data from tens of thousands of reports entered into the system will help researchers to define significant adverse events related to corneal transplantation. Ultimately this could produce innovative benchmarks taking into account patient-related outcomes, which will enable healthcare practitioners to better inform patients about expected outcomes. The overall goal is to develop evidence-based guidelines for good clinical practice, particularly with regard to safety, quality and efficacy in cornea transplantation surgery. The project includes eight partners: the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS), European Society of Cornea and Ocular Surface Disease Specialists (EuCornea), Fondazione Banca degli Occhi del Veneto Onlus (FBOV) & European Eye Bank Association (EEBA), NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), University of Maastricht (UM), Nederlandse Transplantatie Stichting (NTS) and Blekinge Lans Landsting (LTBlekinge).

Tags: ARVO, ECCTR