Retinopathy of Prematurity among Preterm Newborn Admitted to the Neonatal Care Unit in a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

Introduction: World Health Organization has identified retinopathy of prematurity as an important cause of preventable childhood blindness. The presentation of retinopathy of prematurity is varied and differs in the developed and developing worlds. The study aimed to find out the prevalence of retinopathy of prematurity among preterm newborn admitted to the Neonatal Care Unit in a tertiary care centre. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among preterm newborn admitted to the Neonatal Care Unit after receiving ethical approval from the Institutional Review Committee (Reference number: IEC/MGMEI/I/2021/66). The study was conducted from 15 December 2021 to 17 February 2022. Basic demographic data, risk factors, clinical characteristics, and prevalence of retinopathy of prematurity were noted. Convenience sampling was done. Point estimate and 95% Confidence Interval were calculated. Results: Among 204 participants, retinopathy of prematurity was found in 118 (57.84%) (51.06-64.62, 95% Confidence Interval) in at least one eye. Early treatment retinopathy of prematurity type 2 in 82 (69.49%) was the commonest one severity-wise. Supplemental oxygen was given to 118 (100%) cases, and low birth weight was present in 109 (92.37%) cases. Conclusions: The prevalence of retinopathy of prematurity was found to be higher in other similar studies done in similar settings. The screening and treatment for the retinopathy of prematurity require a dedicated trained team of ophthalmologists, vitreo-retina specialists, paediatricians, and neonatologists with well-developed facilities for retinopathy of prematurity clinics. Keywords: blood transfusion; low birth weight; oxygen; preterm births; retinopathy of prematurity.

Impact of comprehensive eye examination in identifying the ocular co-morbidities in patients screened for cataract surgery through the out-reach activities.

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of comprehensive eye examination in identifying the ocular co-morbidities in patients presenting for cataract surgery through the community screening program. Methods: This was a hospital-based retrospective cross-sectional descriptive study in a tertiary eye care institute. Comprehensive eye examination was performed for all patients screened for cataract surgery through the out-reach activities. Patients suspected to have any ocular co-morbidity were revaluated by sub-specialty trained ophthalmologists, and further management was planned. The demographic details of patients, sub-specialty consultation, final diagnosis, and type of the treatment received by these patients were recorded. Results: During the study period, 4022 patients were referred to the base hospital for cataract surgery, of whom 922 (22.9%) needed a specialist opinion. Glaucoma (238) and retinal disorders (232) constituted half (51%) of these referrals. There were 313 (33.9%) patients having co-morbidities because of corneal, oculoplastic, and neuro-ophthalmic conditions. After specialist review, 397 (43.1%) patients underwent only cataract surgery, 55 patients (5.9%) underwent combined surgeries, and 168 (18.2%) patients underwent other procedures. Cataract surgery was not performed in 470 (50.9%) patients, of which 302 were prescribed glasses or managed medically. Conclusion: All patients screened for cataract surgery through out-reach programs require a comprehensive eye examination to identify ocular diseases other than cataract. Provisions must be made for providing alternative or additional treatment in those with various ocular co-morbidities.

Outcomes of early versus deferred laser after intravitreal ranibizumab in aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to report the treatment outcomes of early and deferred laser in infants of aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity (APROP) after initial treatment with intravitreal Ranibizumab (IVR). Methods: In a prospective, randomized, interventional study, infants with APROP received IVR (0.25 mg) and were randomized into two groups prior to laser. Laser was done at 1 week (group 1) or at 6 weeks or earlier if there was a recurrence of plus disease (group 2). The structural outcome, number of laser spots, duration of laser procedure and refractive error at 6 months were compared. Favorable structural outcome was defined as, complete regression of disease at 6 weeks after laser. Results: 63 eyes of 32 infants with APROP were enrolled. Mean gestational age (GA) and birth weight (BW) were 30.2 ± 2.3 weeks and 1294 ± 372.8 grams respectively. GA, BW, and disease severity were comparable at baseline. 27 (90%) eyes in group 1 and 29 (93.5%) eyes in group 2 had favorable structural outcome (P = 0.61) at 6 weeks after laser. Eyes in group 2 (2149.8 ± 688.7) required lesser number of laser spots than group 1 (2570.8 ± 615) (P = 0.01). At six months, more eyes in group 1 had myopic refractive error (Mean spherical equivalent: -1.0D ± 1.3) than those in group 2 (Mean spherical equivalent: 0.5D ± 1.9) (P = 0.002). Conclusion: Infants with APROP receiving IVR have comparable structural outcomes after an early or deferred laser. Moreover, eyes undergoing deferred laser require less number of laser spots and have a less myopia at 6 months after laser.

Trans-scleral explantation of posteriorly dislocated IOL-CTR complex in a case of anterior megalophthalmos with an unusually thin cornea.

Anterior megalophthalmos and keratoglobus are characterised by corneal thinning and deep anterior chamber. They are clinically distinguished on the basis of normal to slightly decreased corneal thickness with a large corneal diameter (>13 mm) in case of anterior megalophthalmos, and marked limbus-to-limbus corneal thinning with globular protrusion in keratoglobus. To achieve and maintain a centred and stable intraocular lens (IOL) position in the bag is often difficult in cases of anterior megalophthalmos due to a too large diameter of the capsular bag and ciliary ring. We report a case of a 40-year-old man with features of anterior megalophthalmos with extremely thin cornea. He had spontaneous posterior dislocation of IOL and capsular tension ring (CTR) within the bag after initial successful cataract surgery. The dislocated complex could neither have been repositioned with scleral fixation due to large diameter of ciliary ring nor could it have been explanted through a clear corneal incision due to associated very thin cornea. We performed pars plana vitrectomy and separated the IOL-CTR complex inside the eye and explanted them separately through the sclerotomy, as is done for removal of intraocular foreign body. This avoided incision on the thin cornea. We conclude that this method can be very useful in a similar clinical situation but is complex enough to justify its use in routine cases.