About

Albert S. Khouri, MD, is an Assistant Professor and the Director of the Glaucoma Division at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, where he also serves as Program Director for the Ophthalmology Residency. He specializes in the medical, laser, and surgical treatment of glaucoma, as well as cataract and complex cataract surgery, ocular trauma, and ophthalmic research and clinical trials. Dr. Khouri is involved in resident and medical student education, focusing on glaucoma, cataract, and ocular trauma instruction and surgical training. He mentors residents and students in clinical research, particularly in ophthalmic tele-medicine, imaging technologies, and advances in glaucoma treatment outcomes. His research includes applications of novel imaging technologies for disease detection, glaucoma surgical innovations, laser treatments, and management of childhood glaucomas. Dr. Khouri has contributed to numerous clinical trials and research projects aimed at improving diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in ophthalmology.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Family medicine
• Ophthalmology
• Political Science
• Computer Science
• Internal medicine
• Artificial Intelligence
• Medical education
• Demography
• Optometry
• Surgery

Selected publications

• Metformin Use and Risk of Glaucoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

  American Journal of Ophthalmology · 2026-03-10

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Geographic Analysis of Access to Glaucoma Care by Provider Type and Population Demographics

  Ophthalmic Epidemiology · 2026-01-29 · 1 citations

  articleSenior author

  PURPOSE: To characterize the geographic distribution of glaucoma eye care providers in the United States and identify disparities in access to glaucoma care. METHODS: Using four public databases, the names and addresses of ophthalmic and optometric glaucoma eye care providers were identified. Each provider was geocoded into a United States county using ArcGIS Pro (Esri). Population demographics were recorded for each county using data from the 2018-2022 American Community Survey. Analysis of variance was used to compare socioeconomic indices between counties with and without glaucoma eye care providers in SPSS Statistics (IBM Corp.). RESULTS: < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The unbalanced distribution of glaucoma eye care providers in the United States suggests that some regions may suffer from relatively poor access to care. This disparity is compounded by increased socioeconomic depravity in counties lacking glaucoma eye care providers.

  PublisherDOI

• Evaluation of Social Media Short‐Form Video Content for Patient Education on Vision‐Threatening Diseases

  Journal of Ophthalmology · 2026-01-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Purpose The rapid spread of unreliable misinformation on vision‐threatening diseases can significantly affect the eye health behaviors and outcomes of the patients consuming short‐form social media content. This study evaluates short‐form videos pertaining to vision‐threatening diseases to quantify video quality, content, and popularity. Methods This cross‐sectional study analyzed short‐form videos on cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and age‐related macular degeneration from TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. A hashtag search identified the first fifty videos on each disease from each social media platform. Two reviewers evaluated them, resolving discrepancies with a third. Outcome measures included number of views, likes, comments, uploader source, content type, modified DISCERN score (0–5 scale), and global quality scale (GQS) score (1–5 scale). Engagement outcomes were summarized descriptively using medians and interquartile ranges, while reliability and quality outcomes were analyzed using one‐way ANOVA with Tukey post hoc comparisons. Results TikTok videos demonstrated higher median engagement (views, likes, and comments) compared to Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. Videos on cataracts had higher engagement statistics compared to the other vision‐threatening diseases across all platforms. Physicians were the most common video source (45%). The most common content categories were treatments/management (36%) and general symptoms (22%). YouTube Shorts had a significantly greater average DISCERN (2.93 ± 0.70) and GQS score (3.85 ± 1.26) than Instagram Reels and TikTok ( p &lt; 0.001). Videos from patients had the lowest mean DISCERN and GQS scores. Conclusions TikTok had the greatest median engagement levels, while YouTube Shorts had the greatest mean quality and reliability. Videos from patients and philanthropists had lower quality scores, while healthcare professionals and organizations had the highest. Future efforts should understand the patients’ perspectives, address misinformation, and improve quality across all social media platforms.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Outpatient visits and secondary surgeries following open globe injuries: a single institution retrospective analysis

  International Ophthalmology · 2026-02-14

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  PURPOSE: Open globe injuries (OGIs) impose a significant burden on patients and the healthcare system. This study reports outpatient visits and secondary surgeries associated with OGIs METHODS: A retrospective chart review of OGI repairs at a Level 1 Trauma Center from 2015-2023 was conducted. Two areas of resource utilization, outpatient office visits and secondary surgeries required within a year of the injury were recorded and predictors were identified RESULTS: Of 619 patients (mean age 46±22 years; 76.7% male), most had OGIs from blunt traumatic etiology (57.0%) with injury in zone I (65.9%). On average, patients had 5.3±4.7 office visits, where 8% of patients had no follow-up, 76% had 1-9 visits, and 16% had 10 or more visits. Thirty-five percent required at least one secondary surgery (mean 0.5±0.8). Clinical factors, including presenting best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), predicted utilization. Predictors for office visits included injury zone (p=0.02), retinal detachment (p<0.001), vitreous hemorrhage (p=0.014), and traumatic cataract (p=0.011). Retinal detachment (p<0.001), and traumatic cataract (p<0.001) were predictive of secondary surgeries. The most common surgeries were pars plana vitrectomy (n=124), cataract extraction (n=46), enucleation (n=33), and corneal transplant (n=21) CONCLUSION: OGI management often requires additional procedures with significant follow-up. Overall trends suggest greater utilization among eyes with significant injury that still maintain potential for visual recovery.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Patterns and Prevention of Occupational Eye Injuries: A Narrative Review

  Clinical ophthalmology · 2025-11-01 · 3 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Occupational eye injuries (OEIs) remain a major public health issue despite regulatory efforts toward increasing protective eyewear use. OEIs encompass a wide spectrum of trauma, from superficial injury to tissue melt and globe rupture. These injuries are associated with substantial medical, economic, and social burden. This narrative review identifies risk factors associated with OEIs, differences based on workplace, and barriers to OEI prevention. Risks for OEI include male sex, low educational attainment, low income, or being a temporary or migrant worker. Certain industries such as metalworking, construction and manufacturing, chemical handling, and agriculture, also carry unique ocular hazards that predispose workers to OEIs. Although many OEIs are minor, those that cause severe injury can result in permanent visual loss and blindness. Industrial and construction workers are frequently exposed to high-velocity foreign bodies (FBs) and blunt trauma, while agricultural workers are at elevated risk for open globe injuries, FBs and the vision-threatening sequalae of infection from organic material. Chemical injuries, although less common, are notable for high rates of bilateral eye involvement, often requiring urgent intervention. Unfortunately, most OEIs occur in the absence of proper protective eyewear. Barriers range from discomfort and poor fit, inadequate access, and lack of perceived need, all of which contribute to low compliance in various occupational settings. Current evaluations of behavioral and regulatory interventions to increase adherence show promise but with mixed results. Advances in protective eyewear technology that optimize comfort and usage tracking may be helpful for employers to ensure compliance. A comprehensive understanding of OEI mechanisms and the obstacles to increased protective eyewear use is critical to mitigate the impact of OEIs on workers.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Evaluating a virtual reality visual fields analyzer in an urban, underserved glaucoma &amp; glaucoma suspect patient populations to identify disparities

  Graefe s Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology · 2025-07-07 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  PURPOSE: To evaluate the utility of wearable visual field perimetry in an urban, underserved patient population and identify disparities in its utility as a screening tool. METHODS: 175 eyes from 105 participants (46 non-glaucomatous eyes from 34 participants and 113 glaucomatous eyes from 74 participants; 16 eyes failed inclusion criteria) presenting at University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey for glaucoma evaluation underwent testing by both the Humphrey Visual Field Analyzer™ (HFA) and PalmScan VF2000 G2™. Glaucoma severity was classified as per the Hoddap criteria. Mean deviation (MD), pattern standard deviation (PSD), visual field index (VFI), mean sensitivity (MS), & area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) on analysis adjusted for inter-eye correlation. RESULTS: The VF2000 and HFA significantly differed in VFI as the VF2000 consistently underestimated VFI (p = 0.003) but did not significantly differ in MD (p = 0.664) or PSD (p = 0.584). The VF2000 had significantly fewer false positives (p < 0.001) and fixation losses (p = 0.001) but was a significantly longer exam (p = 0.018). On a multivariate logistic regression model adjusting for both inter-eye correlation and demographic variables, the VF2000 had an AUC of 0.7007, indicating fair agreement when identifying severe glaucoma. Language, age, and sex did not independently impact odds of agreement between the two devices; however, differences based on the interaction of age and language were observed. CONCLUSION: Our analysis of the Humphrey Visual Field against the virtual reality PalmScan VF2000 G2™ in an urban, diverse population found subtle disparities in predictive staging of glaucoma. Future studies may need to account for these disparities by evaluating the combinations of demographic interactions rather than evaluating them as independent, unrelated factors. KEY MESSAGES: What is known Portable perimetry and virtual reality headsets have been used with moderate efficacy in screenings for glaucoma, but gaps exist in the quality of results as compared to the Humphrey Visual Fields Analyzer. What is new The PalmScan VF2000 G2, a portable perimetry headset, may be suitable as a screening device, but it is not advanced enough to differentiate glaucoma stage as effectively as HFA analysis. Disparities along social determinants of health do exist in VF2000 detection of glaucoma, though these manifestations may be subtle and tied to the interaction of many complex factors. Future studies may benefit from examining the interaction between demographic factors as variables predictive of outcome.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Bilateral Anterior Segment Hyphema and Ocular Hypotony Following Treatment with Lutetium (177Lu) Vipivotide Tetraxetan (Pluvicto)

  Ocular Immunology and Inflammation · 2025-05-19

  article

  PURPOSE: We describe a case of severe bilateral anterior segment neovascularization leading to hyphema in a patient treated with Lutetium (177Lu) vipivotide tetraxetan for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). METHODS: Case report with multimodal imaging. RESULTS: A 77-year-old patient was referred for evaluation of a two-day history of blurry vision. At presentation, the exam was significant for bilateral hyphema, elevated intraocular pressure, and significant microcystic edema. Gonioscopy revealed neovascularization of the anterior segment. Multimodal imaging revealed intraretinal hemorrhages without neovascular retinopathy, metastases, or carotid occlusive disease. The patient was treated medically, but developed significant hypotony necessitating postponement of therapy. CONCLUSION: This case demonstrates a potential ocular adverse reaction to Lutetium (177Lu) vipivotide tetraxetan therapy.

  PublisherDOI

• Analyzing the Role of AI in Resident Education: An Evaluation of ChatGPT on Ophthalmology Trainee Examination Questions by Subtopic

  Journal of Academic Ophthalmology · 2025-08-14

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Background: ChatGPT is a large-scale language model trained on various datasets to learn, analyze, and generate human-like answers to user’s questions. To assess its applicability to medical education, more information is required to understand whether its analyses can provide accurate and coherent responses to questions. The aim of this study was to characterize ChatGPT responses to ophthalmology questions according to subtopic to determine where the system might be used reliably in resident education and where its performance remains weak. Methods: Ophthalmology questions were obtained from a widely utilized study resource, OphthoQuestions. Thirteen sections, each with a differing ophthalmic subtopic, were sampled, and questions were collected from each section. Questions containing images or tables were excluded. Of 163 questions and their respective answer choices, 131 were input into ChatGPT-3.5. The accuracy of ChatGPT by subtopic was analyzed using Excel. ChatGPT responses were evaluated via the properties of natural coherence. Incorrect responses were categorized as logical fallacy, informational fallacy, or explicit fallacy. Statistical significance of categorical variables were analyzed using the χ2 test. Results: ChatGPT answered 71 of 131 questions correctly (54.2%). Accuracy in each subtopic was as follows: general medicine (90%), oculoplastics (70%), retina and vitreous (70%) cornea (30%), fundamentals (40%), optics (40%), pediatrics (40%), glaucoma (50%), lens and cataract (50%), neuro-ophthalmology (60%), pathology and tumors (60%), refractive surgery (55), and uveitis (50%). Logical reasoning, internal information, and external information were identified in 82.4%, 100%, and 83.2% of the responses, respectively. The use of logical reasoning (P = 0.003) and external information (P = 0.02) was found to be statistically significant when stratified by correct and incorrect responses. Conclusion: ChatGPT scored higher in general medicine, oculoplastics, and retina and vitreous than in cornea, fundamentals, optics, and pediatrics. Identifying subtopics in which ChatGPT performs less well allows learners to acquire appropriate supplemental resources in these areas.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Beyond the Prostate: A Visionary Study on Ocular Impacts of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Drugs

  Journal of Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics · 2025-08-06 · 1 citations

  articleSenior author

  Significant drug safety signals in FAERS disproportionality analysis underscore the necessity for deeper exploration of the link between BPH medications and serious ocular adverse effects, including macular fibrosis, corneal pathologies, lacrimal gland changes, and macular edema.

  PublisherDOI

• Medicare Part D Glaucoma Drug Prescribing Patterns by Ophthalmologists from 2018 to 2022

  Journal of Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics · 2025-02-05

  articleSenior author

  Background: Glaucoma is a chronic, progressive disease of visual loss and blindness that is often managed pharmacologically. The objective of this study was to evaluate glaucoma drug prescribing trends by ophthalmologists in the United States from 2018 to 2022. Methods: Data on ophthalmologist prescribers were abstracted from Medicare Part D Prescriber Public Use Files to identify the total number of claims for each drug. Drugs were classified by type (generic or brand-name) and by drug class (carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, alpha-2 agonists, beta-blockers, prostaglandin analogs, rho kinase inhibitors, parasympathomimetic drugs, and mixed-mechanism drugs). The types of drugs prescribed were compared longitudinally. Results: Forty glaucoma drugs were prescribed under Medicare Part D from July 1st, 2018, to June 30th, 2022. A dip in total claims and claims by drug class was observed from 2018–2019 to 2019–2020. This was followed by increases to the greater number of claims in 2021–2022. Prostaglandin analogues were the most frequently prescribed class, and the most commonly prescribed drugs were latanoprost, timolol, and the dorzolamide/timolol combination. The majority of claims consisted of generics, and this value increased longitudinally as well. The most rapidly growing class prescribed by physicians was rho kinase inhibitors. Conclusion: Longitudinal differences in Medicare Part D glaucoma drug claims may reflect changing practice patterns and preferences among providers. An increasing number of claims annually, with the exception of the COVID-19 pandemic onset, reflects the growing prevalence of glaucoma. The utilization of new glaucoma agents, such as rho kinase inhibitors, is rapidly increasing as a new therapeutic option.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Robert D. Fechtner

  SUNY Upstate Medical University

  120 shared

• Bernard Szirth

  Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

  96 shared

• Ben Szirth

  Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

  89 shared

• Marko Oydanich

  Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

  81 shared

• Tamara L. Berezina

  72 shared

• Bernard C. Szirth

  Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

  54 shared

• Nicole Mendez

  University of Miami

  53 shared

• Sumana Kommana

  Temple University Hospital

  49 shared

Education

• M.D.

  American University of Beirut, Lebanon

  1992

• B.S.

  American University of Beirut, School of Arts & Sciences, Lebanon

  1988