Effect of pseudoexfoliation syndrome on lamina cribrosa morphology after uneventful phacoemulsification.

AIM: To evaluate the behavior of the lamina cribrosa (LC) following successful phacoemulsification (PE) surgery in non-glaucomatous PXS cases with cataract. METHODS: A total of 25 bilateral PXS and 56 non-PXS cataract patients were included in this prospective, interventional, and controlled study. The lamina cribrosa thickness (LCt) and anterior laminar depth (ALD) were measured horizontally and vertically from two sections using EDI-OCT. The measurements were taken preoperatively, and the LCt and ALD measurements were repeated at week one (W1), month one (M1), month two (M2), and month three (M3) postoperatively. RESULTS: The baseline horizontal and vertical LCt values were found to be significantly thinner in the PXS group (p = 0.001, p = 0.006 respectively). The horizontal section ALD values were 463.32 ± 98.82 µm and 383.88 ± 85.8 µm (p < 0.001) for the PXS and non-PXS groups, respectively, and this significance continued during follow-up. The vertical ALD values were 469.64 ± 117.83 µm and 390.3 ± 98.1 µm (p = 0.002) in the PXS and non-PXS groups, respectively. There was no significant change in the PXS group for the depth following PE, but a statistically significant depth increase response was observed in the non-PXS group during follow-up. CONCLUSION: It is possible to conclude that the bending capacity of the lamina cribrosa may be lower than seen in the normal population, but we do not know how this lack of flexibility will affect the eye.

Choroidal thickness changes in healthcare professionals wearing surgical masks or FFP2 masks: Pilot study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the choroidal thickness (CT) with enhanced depth-imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT) in healthcare professionals using surgical masks or FFP2 (N95) masks. METHODS: We included the 120 eyes of 120 healthy volunteers who were using a surgical mask (Group 1) or FFP2 mask (Group 2) in the study. Spectral domain (SD) OCT was used to measure CT. EDI-OCT was used to measure subfoveal and perifoveal CT. Points 1500 µm nasal (CN1500) and temporal (CT1500) to the foveal center were used to measure perifoveal CT. Oxygen saturation and heart rate were measured with a pulse oximeter. All measurements were performed at 8:30, before wearing the mask, and at 12:30, when the mask was removed for the lunch break. RESULTS: Of a total of 120 subjects, Group 1 consisted of 60 subjects (mean age 38.50±8.60 (range 24-44) years) and Group 2 also consisted of 60 subjects (mean age 36.60±6.53 (range 26-45) years). Although not statistically significant, CT was seen to have increased at 3 measurement points in Group 1 after using the mask for 4 h: subfoveal CT (CSF) (p = 0.545), CT1500 (p = 0.080), and CN1500 (p = 0.251)). In Group 2, the increase in CSF (p = 0.001) was statistically significant while the increases in CN1500 and CT1500 were not (p = 0.162 and p = 0.058, respectively) after using the mask for 4 h. CONCLUSION: We found CT to increase after 4 h of mask use, and this increase was more marked in Group 2. The increase in subfoveal CT in particular was statistically significant in Group 2.