Visual Prognosis and Satisfaction of Advanced Cataract Patients Unable to be Evaluated by Fundus Imaging

PURPOSE: We evaluated the surgical prognoses of patients with advanced cataract who were unable to be evaluated by fundus imaging and their satisfaction with daily life.METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 748 eyes of 480 patients who underwent cataract surgery from January 2015 to December 2017. Preoperative factors, surgical technique, degree of cataract, and the best-corrected visual acuity for 1 and 6 months after surgery were analyzed. Among 91 eyes of 78 patients with advanced cataract who were unable to be evaluated by fundus imaging, the degree of discomfort before surgery and postoperative satisfaction were evaluated.RESULTS: Hypertension was positively correlated with visual acuity after cataract surgery (p = 0.004). Low corneal endothelial cell count, primary open-angle glaucoma, a history of trabeculectomy due to glaucoma, corneal dystrophy or corneal opacity, advanced cataract unable to be evaluated by fundus imaging, hypermature cataract, extracapsular cataract extraction, and intracapsular cataract extraction and visual acuity <0.5 after 1 month showed negative correlations with the visual outcomes after 6 months (p = 0.019, p = 0.002, p = 0.037, p = 0.001, p = 0.004, p = 0.012, p = 0.00, and p = 0.00, respectively). The risk of a final visual acuity <0.5 after cataract surgery was 3.18-fold higher in cases of advanced cataract, unable to be evaluated by fundus imaging (p = 0.003). Ten patients with 10 eyes postponed surgery due to poor prognoses, which was expected, and six patients (60%) had a best-corrected visual acuity <0.5 after 6 months. Six patients (60%), expected to have a poor prognosis were satisfied after surgery and the postoperative satisfaction was high when compared with a poor visual outcome.CONCLUSIONS: Poor surgical prognoses were expected in advanced cataract patients unable to be evaluated by fundus imaging. However, advanced cataract patients, who postponed surgery due to an unfavorable visual prognosis, showed a higher subjective satisfaction when compared with the postoperative visual acuity.

Long-term Results of Taking Anti-oxidant Nutritional Supplement in Intermediate Age-related Macular Degeneration

PURPOSE: We prospectively investigated clinical changes and long-term outcomes after administration of the drugs recommended by the Age-Related Eye Disease Study-2 to patients with intermediate age-related macular degeneration (AMD). METHODS: This prospective multicenter study enrolled 79 eyes of 55 patients taking lutein and zeaxanthin. The primary endpoint was contrast sensitivity; this was checked every 12 months for a total of 36 months after treatment commenced. The secondary endpoints were visual acuity, central macular thickness, and drusen volume; the latter two parameters were assessed using spectral domain optical coherence tomography. RESULTS: The mean patient age was 72.46 ± 7.16 years. Contrast sensitivity gradually improved at both three and six cycles per degree. The corrected visual acuity was 0.13 ± 0.14 logMAR and did not change significantly over the 36 months. Neither the central macular thickness nor drusen volume changed significantly. CONCLUSIONS: Contrast sensitivity markedly improved after treatment, improving vision and patient satisfaction. Visual acuity, central retinal thickness, and drusen volume did not deteriorate. Therefore, progression of AMD and visual function deterioration were halted.

A Case of Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome with Bilateral Visual Impairment

PURPOSE: To report a case of recovery of bilateral cortical blindness in a patient with posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome. CASE SUMMARY: A 46-year-old female visited the ophthalmology department due to abrupt visual acuity decrease. Ten days earlier, she had received conservative management due to anemia caused by menorrhagia and uterine prolapse. She underwent a gynecological operation to remove a uterine myoma two days previously, and was given a blood transfusion postoperatively because of excessive bleeding. After the transfusion, she complained of acute blurred vision. Her best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was hand motion 10 cm in both eyes. There were no abnormal specific findings except retinal dot hemorrhage at the temporal side in the left eye on fundus examination. Her pupillary light reflex was normal and optical coherence tomography examination was unremarkable in both eyes. However, flash visual evoked potential findings showed reduced P100 amplitude in both eyes and she was diagnosed with posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome based on brain magnetic resonance imaging. After close observation without any treatment, the symptoms gradually improved. Finally, her BCVA recovered to 1.0 and P1 and P100 amplitudes were restored to normal range in both eyes at 16 weeks from the first diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: A patient complained of bilateral visual loss without other neurological symptoms after chronic blood loss and blood transfusion. She recovered visual acuity completely with prompt diagnosis of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome and close observation only.