Changes in intra-ocular pressure, ocular pulse amplitude and choroidal thickness after trabeculectomy.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Glaucoma is one of the most common causes of blindness. Although high intra-ocular pressure (IOP) is the most important risk factor, ocular blood flow also has an effect on prognosis. BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the IOP, ocular pulse amplitude (OPA) and choroidal thickness (CT) changes after trabeculectomy and to determine whether trabeculectomy has an effect on ocular blood flow. METHODS: This retrospective, comparative case series was conducted with 33 eyes of 33 patients who underwent trabeculectomy due to uncontrolled glaucoma. The fellow eyes of 20 patients who were followed up with medical therapy were included as a control group. IOP and OPA were evaluated using a dynamic contour tonometer. Subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) was obtained with enhanced depth imaging (EDI) mode of Spectralis-OCT. RESULTS: The mean IOP was 21.6 ± 6.3 mmHg at baseline and 13.8 ± 0.9 mmHg after trabeculectomy (p ˂ 0.001), and the mean OPA was 4.1 ± 1.5 at baseline and 2.6 ± 1.6 mmHg after trabeculectomy (p ˂ 0.001). The mean SFCT was 292.2 ± 63.2 µm at baseline and 303.8 ± 70.4 µm after trabeculectomy (p = 0.024). The change in OPA was strongly positively correlated with the change in IOP (r = 0.597, p ˂ 0.001) and SFCT change was positively correlated with OPA change (r = 0.34, p = 0.05). There was no difference between the two groups in terms of IOP, OPA and SFCT values measured after trabeculectomy (respectively, p = 0.264, p = 0.627 and p = 0.949). CONCLUSION: The large IOP decrease following trabeculectomy causes a decrease in OPA and choroidal thickening. On the other hand, trabeculectomy has no effect on OPA change.

Duane Retraction Syndrome and Accompanying Ocular Abnormalities.

OBJECTIVES: Duane retraction syndrome (DRS) is a congenital syndrome characterized by limitation in adduction and/or abduction eye movements and narrowing of the palpebral fissure in adduction, and may include globe retraction, upshoot or downshoot. Several systemic abnormalities, syndromes, and additional ocular findings can accompany DRS. This study is an evaluation of eye findings in patients with DRS. METHODS: The records of 632 patients with DRS who were followed up between 1995 and 2016 were reviewed retrospectively. Patients with a follow-up of less than 6 months and patients with a history of eye/cranial trauma or injury were not included in the study. Before the patients were examined, a detailed anamnesis was obtained. Details of the medical records, including additional systemic diseases, were recorded. RESULTS: The average of follow-up time was 45 months (min-max: 6-128 months). There were 255 male and 377 female patients. A total of 34 patients (5.4%) had additional ocular abnormalities. The most frequently observed ocular pathologies associated with DRS were congenital ptosis (n=6, 0.94%) and coloboma of the iris (n=4, 0.63%). CONCLUSION: Most cases of DRS are observed as isolated. However, various ocular and systemic abnormalities and syndromes are associated with DRS. In particular, synkinetic syndromes may frequently be seen alongside DRS. Therefore, a complete ocular examination and anamnesis are crucial in cases with DRS.

The Efficacy of Intravitreal Bevacizumab in Vitreous Hemorrhage of Diabetic Subjects.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the efficacy of intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) in the resolution of vitreous hemorrhage (VH) secondary to proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy eyes of 70 patients (43 male, mean age 55.6±12.2 years) diagnosed with VH secondary to PDR were evaluated retrospectively. Demographic characteristics of the patients, baseline and final clinical results, and the interventions the patients were subject to were recorded. The patients who received IVB injections (group 1, n=29) were compared to those who did not receive injections (group 2, n=41) in terms of VH clearance time and surgery rates. RESULTS: The mean follow-up time was 14.5±6.1 months in group 1 and 18.4±9.6 months in group 2 (p=0.185). The mean visual acuity was similar between the groups at baseline and at the last visit (for all p>0.05). Panretinal photocoagulation could be applied in 86% of subjects in group 1 and in 58% in group 2 2 within the first month (p=0.016). VH clearance time was not different between the groups (2.3±2.1 months in group 1 and 3.4±2.6 months in group 2, p=0.146). The number of subjects requiring surgery was 7 (24%) in group 1 and 20 (48.8%) in group 2 (p=0.048). CONCLUSION: IVB was found effective in cases with VH secondary to PDR in terms of reducing the need for surgery and increasing the rate of subjects to whom panretinal photocoagulation could be applied in the early period, although there was no impact on final visual acuity.