ArticleClinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.)2020
What are Ophthalmology Patients Asking Online? An Analysis of the Eye Triage Subreddit.
Article in Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Decoding the Digital Discourse: A Thematic and Sentiment Analysis of Reddit Posts on Eyelid Surgery.Aesthetic surgery journal. Open forum · 2026Article
- Reddit users' questions and concerns about glaucoma.International ophthalmology · 2025Article
- Patient Perception and Self-Reported Outcomes with Presbyopia-Correcting Intraocular Lenses (PCIOLs): A Social Media Listening Study.Ophthalmology and therapy · 2024Article
- Article
- Utilization of Instagram by Ophthalmology Residency Programs in the Era of COVID-19.Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2023Article
- Ophthalmology Inquiries on Reddit: What Should Physicians Know?Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2022Article
- Trick or treat: Social Media's dissemination power of ophthalmologic information in the pandemic context.Romanian journal of ophthalmologyReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
importanceOphthalmology patients are seeking medical advice on social media websites like Reddit, where users are able to post comments and discuss issues pertaining to different topics that are organized in 'subreddits'. Understanding which issues are most pertinent will guide ophthalmic providers in delivering more effective patient education.
methodsThis cross-sectional study assessed a systematic sample of the first 22 posts and their top 3 comments from each month since January 27th, 2019, the subreddit's creation. Information was gathered from reddit.com/r/eyetriage in October 2019 and analyzed in November 2019. MAIN OUTCOMES: The posts were characterized by date and time, inclusion of an image, type, content, emotional tone, and number of upvotes and comments. The comments were categorized based on content, emotional tone, time of comment, and user background. Post and comment content codes were categorized in an iterative manner with differences resolved by author consensus. Categorical statistics were compiled.
resultsTwo hundred posts and 456 comments were analyzed since the creation of r/eyetriage, a forum created exclusively for patients to seek advice from health-care professionals. Twenty-six (13%) of the total posts included an image. On average, comments received 1.76 ± 2.17 upvotes along with 4.50 ± 4.47 replies. The most common content codes among the posts were 42 (21.0%) seeking diagnoses, 23 (11.5%) surgical complications, and 13 (6.50%) alternative medication options. Eighty-two (41%) posts conveyed a clear emotional tone, most notably 11 (13.4%) with anxiety and 10 (12.2%) with worry. The top comments came from 165 (36.2%) self-identified patients, 151 (33.1%) optometrists, and 49 (10.8%) ophthalmologists. The top comment codes for replies included 158 (34.7%) with treatment advice, 70 (15.4%) with advice deferred to follow-up appointment with other health-care specialists, and 60 (13.2%) with sharing information.
conclusionsPatients are asking ophthalmology-related questions on the Eye Triage subreddit, and they are more likely to receive information from other patients or optometrists than from self-identified ophthalmologists. When emotions were revealed, patients were often anxious and worried. Opportunities exist for ophthalmologists to take a more active role on this subreddit and help educate patients.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.