Effectiveness of 0.66% Povidone-Iodine Eye Drops on Ocular Surface Flora before Cataract Surgery: A Nationwide Microbiological Study.

A multicenter, nonrandomized, prospective, controlled study was conducted to evaluate, as perioperative prophylactic treatment, the anti-infective effectiveness of 0.66% povidone-iodine eye drops (IODIM®) against the bacterial flora of the conjunctival surface of patients who undergo cataract surgery. Eye drops containing 0.66% povidone-iodine were applied to the eye undergoing cataract surgery; the untreated contralateral eye was used as control. One hundred and twenty patients set to receive unilateral cataract surgery were enrolled in 5 Italian Ophthalmology Centers and pretreated for three days with 0.66% povidone-iodine eye drops. The contralateral eye, used as control, was left untreated. Conjunctival swabs of both eyes were collected at the baseline visit and after three days of treatment, just before the cataract surgery. A qualitative and quantitative microbiological analysis of bacterial presence was evaluated by means of bacterial culture, followed by identification. Methicillin resistance determination was also performed on staphylococci isolates. Bacterial load before and after treatment of the eye candidate for cataract surgery was evaluated and compared to the untreated eye. A reduction or no regrowth on the culture media of the bacterial load was observed in 100% of the study subjects. A great heterogenicity of bacterial species was found. The 0.66% povidone-iodine eye drops, used for three days prior to cataract surgery, were effective in reducing the conjunctival bacterial load. The 0.66% povidone-iodine eye drops (IODIM®) might represent a valid perioperative prophylactic antiseptic adjuvant treatment to protect the ocular surface from microbial contamination in preparation of the surgical procedure.

Functional assessment of a new extended depth-of-focus intraocular lens.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the visual performance of a new extended depth-of-focus intraocular lens (EDOF-IOL). SUBJECTS/METHODS: In this multicenter, prospective, observational study, we enrolled 97 patients who underwent cataract surgery or refractive lens exchange with implantation of the Mini Well EDOF-IOL (SIFI, Italy). Patients underwent postoperatively the following examinations between 4 and 8 weeks after surgery: corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), reading speed with Radner's chart, distance-corrected near visual acuity (DCNVA), defocus curve, contrast sensitivity, and haloes quantitative assessment. RESULTS: In the whole sample, the mean monocular CDVA and DCNVA were, respectively, 0.02 ± 0.07 logMAR and 0.38 ± 0.15 logRAD (logarithm of the reading acuity determination). In the 67 bilaterally implanted patients, binocular CDVA and DCNVA were better (0.00 ± 0.05 logMAR and 0.26 ± 0.13 logRAD) than the corresponding monocular values (p = 0.02 and p = 0.0002, respectively). Ninety-two percent of patients bilaterally implanted reached a binocular reading speed >80 words per minute at a 0.5 logRAD print size (corresponding to the common book print size). The defocus curves showed that the EDOF-IOL provided increased depth of focus through 2.0 D of defocus, with the best performance at 1.0 and 1.5 D. Contrast sensitivity was within normal limits at all spatial frequencies. The mean visual disturbance index was 0.08 ± 0.12, suggesting low night visual disturbances. CONCLUSIONS: The new EDOF-IOL provided good visual acuity for distance, intermediate, and near vision, with no loss of contrast sensitivity and low risk of night visual disturbances.

Anterior chamber depth measurement in pseudophakic eyes: a comparison of Pentacam and ultrasound.

PURPOSE: To compare the anterior chamber depth (ACD) measurements of a Scheimpflug camera (Pentacam, Oculus Optikgeräte GmbH) and immersion ultrasound biometry (UltraScan Imaging System, Alcon Laboratories) in pseudophakic eyes. METHODS: This prospective, multicenter study included three independent sample groups. The ACD, defined as the distance between the corneal epithelium and intraocular lens anterior surface, was assessed by ultrasound biometry. Two Pentacam ACD measurements were evaluated--the value automatically provided by the internal software and a manual measurement obtained by moving the software calipers on a single Scheimpflug image. RESULTS: For the comparison group (12 eyes), no significant difference between the mean ultrasound biometry and mean Pentacam manual measurement (4.51+/-0.34 mm and 4.50+/-0.34 mm, respectively, P>.05) was noted, whereas the mean automatic value was significantly higher (4.94+/-0.41 mm, P=.0002), as the posterior edge of the anterior chamber is erroneously identified as coinciding with the boundary of the posterior capsule. A strong correlation was found between Pentacam manual measurements and ultrasound biometry (r=0.98, P<.0001); this correlation was confirmed by the confirmation group (17 eyes), whose mean values were 4.76+/-0.39 mm and 4.72+/-0.37 mm, respectively (r=0.98, P<.0001). After merging the data for the comparison and confirmation groups, the difference between Pentacam manual measurements (4.65+/-0.38 mm) and ultrasound readings (4.63+/-0.38 mm) was not statistically significant. For the assessment group (15 eyes), relative repeatability and reproducibility of Pentacam manual measurements were 1.17% and 1.59%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In pseudophakic eyes, the Pentacam provides ACD values that do not statistically differ from those of ultrasound immersion biometry, on the condition that manual measurements are used rather than automatic ones.