Anti-fungal efficacy of combination of amphotericin B with colistin and gentamicin in McCarey-Kaufman corneal preservation medium

Purpose: To curtail the potential of donor corneal tissue disseminating fungi to the recipient抯 eye, we evaluated the addition of amphotericin B to McCarey?Kaufman (M?K)梒orneal storage medium supplemented with colistin. Methods: Amphotericin B was examined for its ability to inhibit the growth of Candida albicans and Aspergillus flavus using a microbroth dilution test and checkerboard assay in combination with only gentamicin and a combination of colistin, gentamicin, and amphotericin B. The safety on epithelium and endothelium was evaluated by 3?(4,5?dimethylthiazol?2?yl)?2, 5?diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Results: The minimal inhibitory concentration of gentamicin was found to be >256 ?g/ml against both C. albicans and A. flavus, whereas that of amphotericin B was found to be in a range of 0.25�5 and 1�?g/ml for C. albicans and A. flavus, respectively. According to the checkerboard assay, 80% (4/5) of C. albicans isolates and 100% (5/5) of A. flavus isolates responded synergistically to the combination of amphotericin B and gentamicin, but only 20% (1/5) of C. albicans isolates showed an additive effect. None of the tested isolates displayed antagonism. The combined effect of the three drugs also did not display any antagonistic effect. Additionally, the MTT assay reveals no toxic effect of the antimicrobials used on corneal epithelial and endothelial cells. Conclusion: In vitro experiments demonstrate that amphotericin B is not toxic to either epithelium or endothelium and is a promising additive to the M?K medium supplemented with colistin.

Objectively measuring anterior segment alterations in the eyes of mucopolysaccharidoses: Its utility in early diagnosis of glaucoma

Purpose: Our study aimed to evaluate the utility of the anterior segment morphometry for objectively assessing anterior segment architectural changes of corneal clouding in the mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) cohort and to investigate whether these measurements correlate with the slit?lamp findings on the cornea and early diagnosis of glaucoma. Methods: This retrospective study involved 70 eyes of 35 children with cloudy cornea due to MPS variants. Anterior segment architectural alterations were measured using anterior segment imaging and biometry in MPS children and compared with controls. Results: Mean age of the cohort at the time of assessment was 7.9 ± 4.5 years. Males constituted two?thirds of the cohort. Variants of MPS with cloudy cornea were as follows: Type I (62%), Type IV (11%), and Type VI (22%). Morphometric measurements were available in 22 eyes of 11 MPS children and an age?matched healthy control group. There were significant differences between MPS cohort and controls in refraction in Diopters (5.03 ± 0.39 and 0.01 ± 0.04; P < 0.0001), axial length (AXL) in mm (21.39 ± 0.28 and 23.04 ± 0.28; P = 0.0002), average keratometry in Diopters (40.67 ± 0.44 and 42.83 ± 0.44; P < 0.0001), anterior chamber depth (ACD) in mm (2.92 ± 0.07 and 3.65 ± 0.07; P < 0.0001), and intraocular pressure (IOP) in mmHg (25.2 ± 2.0 and 14.1 ± 2.3; P = 0.0003). Secondary glaucoma was observed in 28% of the MPS cohort. Conclusion: The anterior segment morphometry in the cloudy cornea due to MPS provides an objective measurement of anterior segment architectural changes, thus diagnosing early?onset secondary glaucoma. These findings highlight that cloudy cornea due to MPS variants merits close monitoring throughout life

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the trends in corneal donor mortality data from Eye Bank records in India

Purpose: To describe the causes and trends of corneal donor mortality from eye bank data in India during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID?19) pandemic. Methods: This retrospective eye bank?based study included 13,529 donors who donated their cornea between January 2018 and December 2021. Donors in whom the cause of mortality was documented were included as cases. The data were collected from the eye bank records. Results: Overall, 13,529 corneal donors were included in the study. Most of the donors were males (69.71%). The mean age of the donors was 51.55 ± 20.54 years, whereas the median age was 51 (inter?quartile range: 35–68) years. The mean age of males (49.3 ± 19.47 years) was lesser than the mean age of females (56.72 ± 21.94 years) at the time of donation. The most common age group at the time of donation was during the sixth decade of life with 2,139 (15.81%) donors. The mean age of the donors decreased by a decade from 54.95 ± 20.51 years in 2018 to 44.35 ± 18.88 years in 2021. The most common cause of donor mortality was cardio?respiratory arrest in 5,190 (38.36%) donors and trauma in 3,469 (25.64%) donors, followed by suicide in 2,790 (20.62%) donors. The trend of cardio?respiratory arrest decreased from 53.01% to 9.5% (p = <0.00001), whereas the trends of trauma increased from 21.93% to 36% (p = <0.00001) and suicide increased from 12.71% to 36.41% (p = <0.00001) between 2018 and 2021. Conclusion: Corneal donors are more commonly males in their sixth decade of life. The most common cause of donor mortality was related to cardio?respiratory arrest with a concerning rising trend in suicide cases over the years seen significantly during the pandemic

An experimental study to evaluate the effect of polymixin E (Colistin) alone or in combination with gentamicin in McCarey-Kaufman corneal preservation medium on various drug resistant bacterial and fungal isolates

Purpose: To assess the efficacy of the addition of polymyxin E (colistin) in the McCarey-Kaufman (MK) corneal storage solution against multi-drug resistant strains of Enterobacteriaceae, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida spp. Methods: A standard micro broth dilution test and a checkerboard assay were performed for five multi-drug resistant (MDR) clinical strains of P. aeruginosa and five clinical strains of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and C. albicans against colistin and gentamicin alone and in combination. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) were calculated to assess the efficacy of each combination. Results: The MIC of colistin was in the range of 1–2 ?g/mL for P. aeruginosa, whereas it was 256–1024 ?g/mL against S. aureus. In comparison, the MIC of gentamicin was found to be 0.5–512 ?g/mL and 0.5–8 ?g/mL against P. aeruginosa and S. aureus, respectively. All five isolates of C. albicans did not exhibit any susceptibility to either colistin or gentamicin even at a concentration of ? 512 ?g/ mL each. The checkerboard assay was performed to evaluate the nature of the interaction of the combination of colistin and gentamicin. Based on the FICI, it was observed that the colistin and gentamicin combination has a maximum synergistic effect (FIC <0.5) in 80% (4/5) for S. aureus isolates, whereas the maximum additive effect (FIC >0.5–4) was 100% (5/5) for P. aeruginosa and the minimum additive effect was 20% (1/5) for S. aureus isolates. Antagonism (FIC ? 4) was not observed in any combination between the strains used in the study. Both colistin and gentamicin alone or in combination were, however, ineffective against Candida spp. Conclusion: The addition of colistin has an inhibitory effect on bacterial contamination that could be possibly caused by MDR strains and could potentially be considered as an additional additive in corneal storage media.

Clinical profile and demographic distribution of Fuchs’ endothelial dystrophy: An electronic medical record–driven big data analytics from an eye care network in India

Purpose: To describe the demographics and clinical profile of Fuchs’ endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD) in patients presenting to a multi?tiered ophthalmology hospital network in India. Methods: This cross?sectional hospital?based study included 3,082,727 new patients presenting between August 2010 and December 2021. Patients with a clinical diagnosis of FECD in at least one eye were included as cases. The data were collected using an electronic medical record system. Results: Overall, 2570 (0.08%) patients were diagnosed with FECD. The majority of the patients were female (65.53%) and were predominantly adults (99.92%). The most common age group at presentation was during the seventh decade of life with 867 patients (33.74%). The overall prevalence was higher in patients from a higher socioeconomic status (0.1%) presenting from the urban geography (0.09%) and in retired individuals (0.4%). About half of the 5,140 eyes had mild or no visual impairment (< 20/70) in 2643 eyes (51.42%) followed by moderate visual impairment (>20/70 to 20/200) in 708 eyes (13.77%). The average logMAR was 0.61 ± 0.81 at presentation. The most documented corneal signs were guttae (76.63%), corneal scar (23%) and stromal edema (21.73%). The most associated ocular comorbidity was cataract (47.32%) followed by glaucoma (5.39%). More than a tenth of the affected eyes required a surgical intervention of endothelial keratoplasty (15.58%). Conclusion: FECD more commonly affects females presenting during the seventh decade of life. Majority of the eyes had mild or no visual impairment and endothelial keratoplasty is warranted in a tenth of the affected eyes

Clinical profile and demographic distribution of band shaped keratopathy in India: A study of 8801 patients

Purpose: To describe the clinical profile and demographic distribution of band?shaped keratopathy (BSK) in patients presenting to a multitier ophthalmology hospital network in India. Methods: This cross?sectional hospital?based study included 2,664,906 new patients presenting between January 2011 and January 2021 (10?year period). Patients with a clinical diagnosis of BSK in at least one eye were included as cases. The data were collected using an electronic medical record system. Results: Overall, 8801 (0.33%) patients were diagnosed with BSK. The prevalence rates were 0.47% in children (age: <16 years) and 0.31% in adults. The majority of patients were males (62.87%) with unilateral affliction (85.21%). The mean age of the patients was 40.43 ± 23.14 years. The majority (16.93%) of the patients were in the age bracket of 11–20 years. A larger proportion of the patients were from higher socioeconomic status (60.46%) and the urban region (45.9%). Of the 10,103 eyes affected with BSK, the common ocular comorbidities were status post?vitreoretinal surgery (20.55%) and uveitis (12.7%) in children and corneal scar (41.23%) and spheroidal degeneration (13.7%) in adults. Most of the eyes had mild or no visual impairment (24.74%). Among the eyes that needed surgical intervention, chelation with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) was the most performed surgical procedure (1.68%) along with phototherapeutic keratectomy (0.32%). Conclusion: BSK commonly affects adult males and is unilateral in nature. The majority of the patients in this cohort belonged to higher socioeconomic strata and urban geography. At initial presentation, visual impairment was mild to moderate in a vast majority of the patients, and the most common surgical intervention performed was chelation with EDTA during the study period.

Vitamin B12 deficiency in a large cohort of healthcare professionals across the network of an eyecare organization in India

Purpose: To evaluate Vitamin B12 levels in healthcare professionals at a tertiary eyecare centre in India. Methods: This was a cross?sectional study conducted among healthcare professionals working at a tertiary eyecare centre in India. The sample included 2,374 employees. Chemiluminescent immunoassay method (reference range, 211–911 pg/ml) was used to assess serum vitamin B12 levels. Effect of age and gender was analyzed in vitamin B12 normal and vitamin B12 deficient groups. To evaluate risk factors, questions related to vitamin B12 deficiency were asked to the study participants in a survey. Results: The mean age of employees was 29.2 ± 0.7 years. Around 26% of them were vitamin B12 deficient. The proportion of males in the vitamin B12 deficient group (61.2%) was significantly higher (P < 0.0001) than that of the vitamin B12 normal group (44.9%). There was no effect of age on vitamin B12 levels in both vitamin B12 normal and vitamin B12 deficient groups. Mean vitamin B12 levels in males (289.1 ± 22.2 pg/ml) was significantly lower (P < 0.0001) than that of females (338.7 ± 30.0 pg/ml). Conclusion: This is the first such study on eyecare professionals. One?fourth of the eyecare professionals were vitamin B12 deficient. The proportion of males was higher in the vitamin B12 deficiency group. Males had lower vitamin B12 levels than females. Annual blood tests for vitamin B12 are recommended for timely diagnosis and management of vitamin B12 deficiency, particularly in males.

Pars plana Aurolab aqueous drainage implantation for refractory glaucoma: Outcome of a new modified technique

Purpose: To report the outcomes of pars plana insertion of Aurolab aqueous drainage implant (AADI) in adults with refractory glaucoma by the novel technique of making scleral tunnel instead of patch graft to cover the tube to prevent its migration. Methods: A retrospective study was done between April 2016 and April 2018 on patients with ?12 months of follow?up. The main outcome measure was a surgical failure at 12 months. The failure was defined as intraocular pressure (IOP) >18 mmHg or IOP ?5 mmHg on two consecutive follow?up visits after 3 months, reoperation for glaucoma, loss of light perception vision, or implant explantation. Alternate definitions of failure including IOP >21 and IOP >15 mmHg were also considered. Results: The study included 32 eyes of 32 patients. The mean age was 46.2 ± 17.5 years. The most common etiology is traumatic glaucoma (12 eyes, 37.5%). The mean preoperative IOP and anti?glaucoma medications were 43.3 ± 10.3 and 3.4 ± 0.5 mmHg, respectively; both the parameters at the final follow?up were reduced to 15.2 ± 8.1 and 1.6 ± 0.5 mmHg. The Kaplan–Meier survival estimates demonstrated that the cumulative probability of failure was 15.6% (95% CI; 6.8–33.5%) at 3 months, 18.7% (95% CI; 8.9–37.0%) at 6 months, and 25.0% (95% CI; 13.4–43.8%) at 12 months. Conclusion: Pars plana AADI implantation with a newer modification technique is a useful procedure in reducing IOP and the number of anti?glaucoma medications in the eyes with refractory glaucoma. The visual acuity may be stabilized with the concurrent treatment of posterior segment pathology

Secondary developmental glaucoma in eyes with congenital aphakia

Purpose: To describe the clinical spectrum and management of glaucoma in congenital aphakia. Methods: The demographics and clinical spectrum of eyes with congenital aphakia with and without glaucoma were compared, and management outcomes of congenital aphakia cases with glaucoma were studied retrospectively between April 2000 and June 2020. Results: There were a total of 168 eyes (84 subjects) with a diagnosis of congenital aphakia, of which 29 eyes of 18 subjects were diagnosed with glaucoma. Corneal opacity was the presenting complaint in 26/29 eyes with glaucoma and 139/139 eyes without glaucoma. The (interquartile range (IQR)) horizontal corneal diameter was 10.5mm (IQR, 9.0?12.5) and 8mm (IQR, 5?10) in eyes with and without glaucoma (P = 0.01), respectively. The median (IQR) axial length was 17.5mm (IQR, 13.5?19.5) and 15mm (IQR, 14?16) mm in eyes with and without glaucoma (P = 0.03), respectively. Nineteen eyes with glaucoma had adequate intraocular pressure (IOP) control with one medication. Three eyes underwent transscleral diode cyclophotocoagulation and maintained IOP without medications. Three eyes underwent trabeculectomy and trabeculotomy, trabeculectomy followed by penetrating keratoplasty, and trabeculectomy, respectively, of which two eyes became phthisical. At the last follow?up, the median (IQR) IOP was 14 mm Hg (IQR, 14?17) Hg. The median (IQR) follow?up duration was 4.53 months (IQR, 2.03? 48.06). Conclusion: One?fifth of the eyes with congenital aphakia had secondary developmental glaucoma. The corneal diameter and axial lengths were higher in the eyes with glaucoma compared to eyes without glaucoma. Medical management is the preferred short?term mode of IOP control. Transscleral cyclophotocoagulation may be preferred over surgical intervention.

Clinical, histological and immunohistochemistry characteristics of cornea in the sequelae stage of chronic vernal keratoconjunctivitis

Purpose: To report the clinical outcomes and histopathological and immunohistochemistry (IHC) features in eyes with the sequelae stage of vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC). Methods: Investigative study of corneal samples obtained following surgical intervention for vision restoration in four eyes of three patients with VKC. Patient 1 (an 11?year?old boy) had deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty in both eyes, Patient 2 (a 24?year?old male) underwent superficial keratectomy followed by penetrating keratoplasty, and Patient 3 (a 22?year?old male) underwent penetrating keratoplasty. The corneal samples retrieved after surgical intervention were assessed for histology features and immunohistochemistry (IHC) studies. Results: The grafts were clear till the follow?up of 2–18 months. Histopathology of all four corneal samples showed epithelial hyperplasia, absent Bowman layer, thick hyalinized stromal lamellae, vascularization, and chronic inflammatory cells such as lymphocytes and plasma cells. IHC showed strong expression of CK 3 in both eyes of Patient 1 and no expression in Patients 2 and 3. The marker for limbal stem cells, ABCG2, was absent in all four samples; however, p63? was expressed strongly in Patients 2 and 3, moderately in the right eye of Patient 1, and marginally expressed in the left eye of Patient 1. Conclusion: The eyes in the sequelae stage of VKC (having corneal scarring and 360° hypertrophied limbus) can be managed favorably with keratoplasty and amniotic membrane transplantation without allogenic/cadaveric stem cell transplantation. The expression of transient progenitor cells in the scarred corneas of VKC patients in the sequelae stage suggests that the limbal stem cell dysfunction is more likely partial and self?renewal of limbal stem cells is a plausibility in these eyes

Outcome of transplanted donor corneas with more than 6 h of death‑to‑preservation time.

Purpose: In tropical countries, physicians are skeptic in using corneas with death‑to‑preservation time (DTPT) >6 h, concerns being endothelial cell viability and microbial contamination on prolonged DTPT. The objective of the study was to investigate these concerns by analyzing the outcomes of corneal transplants performed using donor corneas with DTPT >6 h. Materials and Methods: The study was a retrospective case series of 65 transplants performed in 2013 with donor corneas that had DTPT >6 h (range, 6.1–9.8 h). The information on donor cornea tissues and the recipient details were collected from the eye bank and the medical records department of our tertiary eye care center. The main outcome measures were slit lamp assessment of the donor corneas, primary graft failure, graft survival, and postoperative adverse reactions, especially infections, if any. Results: Median DTPT was 7 h. Forty‑four (67.7%) corneas were evaluated as optical grade and 21 (32.3%) were deemed as therapeutic grade; 36 (55.4%) were used for optical indications. There was no relationship between DTPT and the tissue grading of corneas or endothelial cell density. Of the 23 keratoplasties for purely optical indications with a minimum follow‑up of 3 months, 15 (65.2%) remained clear whereas 7 (30.4%) failed (mean follow‑up 15.1 ± 6.7 months). The causes of failure were primary graft failure (n = 1) and secondary graft failure (n = 6). Conclusion: The donor corneas with DTPT 6 h to 10 h can be utilized for optical indications provided that they meet the criteria of tissue acceptance for optical use.

Keratoglobus: An experience at a tertiary eye care center in India.

Context: This study was carried out as a part of an internal audit and is the largest series of patients having keratoglobus, published in the literature. Poor visual acuity of the patients indicates the blinding nature of the disease. Aims: We report our experience with patients having keratoglobus at a tertiary eye care center in India. Settings and Design: Retrospective study. Materials and Methods: We analyzed adults and pediatric patients (<16 years) with keratoglobus, seen during 2008–2012. The age, gender, consanguinity, presenting ocular signs, ocular and systemic associations, visual acuity, corneal topography, and surgeries were documented. Results: Forty‑eight patients (mean age 22 ± 15 years, 31 males) having keratoglobus were analyzed. 21 patients (42 eyes) were <16 years. Twelve eyes (16 events) had positive history of trauma. The presenting clinical signs were corneal scars/scars of tear repair (15 eyes), hydrops, healed and acute (14 eyes) and corneal or globe rupture (9 eyes). Best‑corrected visual acuity was >20/40 in 6/42 (14.3%) pediatric eyes and 15/53 (28.30%) adults. Visual acuity ranging from counting of fingers to no light perception was noted in 20/53 (37.74%) adults and 21/42 (50%) pediatric patients; 13/20 (65%) with blue sclera and 8/22 eyes (36.37%) without blue sclera. Vernal keratoconjunctivitis was present in one pediatric patient. Choroidal osteoma, retinitis pigmentosa, and retinal detachment were present in adults. Surgeries performed were corneal tear repair (5 eyes), tissue adhesive application (2 eyes), descematopexy (4 eyes) and penetrating keratoplasty (PK ‑ 8 eyes: Three had post‑PK glaucoma, graft failure‑one eye, 4 patients wore scleral lens ‑ prosthetic replacement of the ocular surface ecosystem). Conclusions: About 50% of pediatric eyes (65% having blue sclera) had no functional vision. Trivial trauma was responsible for corneal rupture indicating need for protective glasses. About 50% patients had post‑PK glaucoma though grafts were clear.

Cataract surgery after Descemet stripping endothelial keratoplasty.

Management of endothelial dysfunction in phakic patients is sometimes a dilemma for corneal surgeons. Phakic patients with visually significant cataract and endothelial dysfunction are preferably managed by performing combined cataract surgery with endothelial keratoplasty. However, combined surgery may be deferred in eyes with early incipient cataract, younger age and where anterior chamber is poorly visualized. As cataract formation may be accelerated after endothelial keratoplasty, these eyes may need cataract surgery subsequently. Surgical intervention in eyes with endothelial keratoplasty is of concern as this may affect the graft adversely and threaten graft survival. In this report, we describe the intraoperative surgical details and postoperative clinical course of a patient who underwent phacoemulsification with intraocular lens implantation after Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK).