Study to evaluate the relation between weight gain in infants and occurrence of retinopathy of prematurity

Purpose: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a leading cause of childhood blindness. Capturing serial daily postnatal weight gain can act as an innovative, low?cost method of risk stratification. We aim to study the relation between weight gain in infants and occurrence of ROP. Methods: The prospective, observational study was conducted on 62 infants. ROP screening was done based on the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) criteria. Infants were classified into no ROP (n = 28), mild ROP (n = 8), and treatable ROP (n = 26) groups. Average daily postnatal weight gain was measured and its relation to development of ROP was studied. All statistical calculations were done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 21 version (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) statistical program for Microsoft Windows. Results: Mean rate of weight gain in no ROP group, mild ROP group, and treatable ROP group was 33.12, 27.19, and 15.31 g/day, respectively (P = 0.001). Mean gestational age and birth weight in treatable group (n = 26) were 31.38 weeks and 1572.31 g, respectively. Receiver operating curve analysis revealed a cutoff of 29.33 g/day for ROP and 21.91 g/day for severe ROP. Conclusion: We concluded that, babies with poor weight gain of below 29.33 g/day are at high risk for ROP and babies with wight gain of 21.91 g/day are at high risk for severe ROP. These babies should be followed meticulously. So, the rate of weight gain of a preterm can help us to prioritize babies.

Central retinal vein occlusion as primary ocular manifestation of rhino-orbital-cerebral mucormycosis: A case report

Mucormycosis is a serious, rapidly progressing, life-threatening, and sight threatening fungal infection frequently seen in diabetics and immunocompromised patients. We report a rare occurrence of rhino-orbital mucormycosis presenting as unilateral central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) and no other ocular signs of infection in a 65-year-old diabetic male. The definitive diagnosis was made by nasal biopsy which confirmed broad branching aseptate fungal hyphae. The patient was treated with amphotericin B for mucormycosis and intravitreal anti-vascular growth factor (anti-VEGF) drug for macular edema. To conclude, although ophthalmoplegia is the most common ocular presentation and retinal artery occlusion is the most common cause of visual loss in mucormycosis, it may have many varied presentations including CRVO. A high index of suspicion must be kept in diabetics and immunocompromised patients

Visual outcome after manual small-incision cataract surgery by viscoexpression technique

Purpose: Globally, cataracts have remained the major cause of blindness. Cataract accounts for 62.6% of blindness affecting 9� million people. The only treatment for cataracts is surgical removal of cataracts. The surgical procedures include phacoemulsification and extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE). In India, there is a huge backlog of cataract patients. Phacoemulsification is preferred nowadays for early visual rehabilitation, but in developing countries like ours, where facilities are not widely available, small-incision cataract surgery (SICS) is a cost-effective alternative as no machine is required. Also, it provides early visual rehabilitation as it is sutureless when compared to ECCE. So, manual SICS has emerged as a substitute for phacoemulsification and ECCE. The aim of the study was to evaluate the visual acuity and surgically induced astigmatism in patients more than 40 years of age, undergoing manual SICS with nucleus management by viscoexpression technique. Methods: This was a prospective study that included 50 patients over the age of 40 years undergoing manual SICS at a tertiary health-care center in North India by viscoexpression technique. Only those patients whose functional visual disability could be attributed to cataracts were included in the study. Preoperative and postoperative astigmatism were analyzed in the first, fourth, and sixth weeks. Results: Fifty patients who were undergoing manual SICS were analyzed. Preoperative best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and astigmatism were compared to postoperative BCVA and astigmatism. Of 50 patients, 48 (96%) patients were able to gain good vision after 6 weeks. Conclusion: This study showed early visual rehabilitation with less surgically induced astigmatism following manual SICS by viscoexpression technique.