A Simple New Technique to Peel Epiretinal Membrane Without Removing Silicone Oil.

PURPOSE: To introduce a new surgical technique that can keep constant intraocular pressure of the eyeball during peeling epiretinal membrane under silicone oil status. METHODS: A viscoelastic agent was injected into the air pump of the constellation system via the metal tip. This procedure offers a buffer zone to keep constant pressure within the eyeball without disturbing the surgical field by an air bubble. RESULTS: Three cases were performed efficiently (15 ± 5 minutes) under this technique with improvement in anatomical feature and visual function after the surgery. CONCLUSION: Using this simple yet important technique can provide us the constant intraocular pressure without hypotony and avoid the traditional complicated procedures.

Evaluation of a remote telemedicine platform using a novel handheld fundus camera: Physician and patient perceptions from real-world experience.

BACKGROUND: Although teleophthalmology has gained traction in recent years, it is at the center of the coronavirus disease pandemic. However, most hospitals are not ready owing to a severe lack of real-world experience. Furthermore, a limited number of studies have evaluated telemedicine applications on remote islands. This study aimed to evaluate real-world clinical and referral accuracy, image quality, physician-perceived diagnostic certainty, and patient satisfaction with telemedicine eye screening using a novel handheld fundus camera in a rural and medically underserved population. METHODS: This prospective study included 176 eyes from a remote island. All participants underwent a comprehensive ophthalmic examination. Nonmydriatic retinal images obtained using a handheld fundus camera were reviewed by two retinal specialists to determine image quality, diagnosis, and need for referrals. The agreement of diagnosis between image-based assessments was compared with that of binocular indirect ophthalmoscopic assessments. RESULTS: Image quality of fundus photographs was considered acceptable or ideal in 97.7% and 95.5% of eyes assessed by two reviewers, respectively. There was considerable agreement in diagnosis between the indirect ophthalmoscopic assessment and image-based assessment by two reviewers (Cohen's kappa = 0.80 and 0.78, respectively). Likewise, substantial agreement was achieved in the referrals. The sensitivity for referable retinopathy from the two reviewers was 78% (95% confidence interval [CI], 57%-91%) and 78% (95% CI, 57%-91%), whereas specificity was 99% (95% CI, 95%-99%] and 98% (95% CI, 93%-99%), respectively. For physicians' perceived certainty of diagnosis, 93.8% and 90.3% were considered either certain or reliable. Overall, 97.4% of participants were satisfied with their experiences and greatly valued the telemedicine services. CONCLUSION: Novel fundus camera-based telemedicine screening demonstrated high accuracy in detecting clinically significant retinopathy in real-world settings. It achieved high patient satisfaction and physician-perceived certainty in diagnosis with reliable image quality, which may be scaled internationally to overcome geographical barriers under the global pandemic.

XEN45 Gel Stent implantation in eyes with primary open angle glaucoma: A study from a single hospital in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the XEN45 Gel Stent in East Asian patients with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 37 medically uncontrolled POAG patients who received XEN45 Gel Stent. The primary outcomes were reduction in intraocular pressure (IOP) and in the number of glaucoma medications 12 months after surgery. The secondary outcomes were requirement for intervention and further glaucoma surgery. The adverse intraoperative and postoperative events were investigated. RESULTS: At the 12-month postoperative follow-up, the mean IOP was significantly reduced from the preoperative value of 21.7 ± 7.7 mmHg to 15.0 ± 2.0 mmHg (p = 0.001). The mean number of glaucoma medications decreased from 3.4 ± 0.9 to 1.3 ± 1.5 (p < 0.001). Seventeen patients (45.9%) required postoperative interventions. Four patients (10.8%) received additional glaucoma surgery. Postoperative IOP at month 1 was significantly associated with outcomes at the 12-month follow-up and the need for subsequent intervention and additional glaucoma surgery. CONCLUSION: The XEN45 Gel Stent effectively reduced the IOP values and number of glaucoma medications in East Asian patients with POAG. No major complications were observed, but almost half of the eyes in the study required intervention for wound healing modification. Postoperative IOP at month 1 was a predictor of surgical success at 12 months after surgery.

Recovery of visual field defects following vitrectomy for proliferative diabetic retinopathy: A case report.

RATIONALE: Proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) may lead to severe visual impairment, and visual field (VF) loss in such patients has been reported. Vitrectomy is performed in PDR cases complicated with either vitreous hemorrhage or tractional retinal detachment to restore their visual acuity. However, its effect on VF defects is limited in data. Herein, we report the recovery of VF defects following vitrectomy in a patient with PDR. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 25-year-old female with bilateral PDR and vitreous hemorrhage received 2 monthly intravitreal injections of aflibercept in both eyes. Six months after her last injection, she presented with fibrovascular membrane formation in both eyes and VF defects of -9.02 dB and -20.05 dB in the right and left eye, respectively. DIAGNOSES: Proliferative diabetic retinopathy in both eyes. INTERVENTIONS: The patient underwent vitrectomy for her left eye. OUTCOMES: Although her visual acuity did not improve as expected, results from the Humphrey visual field analyzer showed notably improvement of her left eye (-9.05 dB) after the surgery. LESSONS: Vitrectomy potentially allows recovery of VF defects in patients with PDR.

The influence of topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on the intraocular pressure lowering effect of topical prostaglandin analogues-A systemic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to review previous articles and evaluate the influence of topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on intraocular pressure (IOP) in glaucoma patients who were treated with prostaglandin analogues (PGs). METHOD: The presenting study was designed as a meta-analysis of previous research. Databases include PubMed, Web of science, Cochrane library, and Embase were searched with keywords of "intraocular pressure, prostaglandin analogues, NSAIDs, latanoprost, travoprost, bimatoprost, tafluprost, unoprostone, latanoprostene bunod, ketorolac, diclofenac, nepafenac, bromfenac, flurbiprofen". Inclusion criteria were: 1. Study population were glaucoma patients; 2. Comparison between PGs monotherapy and PGs in combination with topical NSAIDs; 3. Changes of IOP as final outcomes. Studies with non-randomized design, treatments combining other anti-glaucomatous drugs, or unavailable absolute IOP were excluded from the analysis. Estimated difference in IOP were calculated using STATA 14.0. RESULT: Seven studies were retrieved for this meta-analysis. Since there is a significant heterogeneity (I2 = 94%) in these studies, random-effect model was used to calculate pooled standardized mean differences (SMD). Our results showed a significantly favorable IOP lowering effect in glaucoma patients treated with combination of topical NSAIDs and PGEs (SMD: 1.3 and -0.03, 95% CI: 0.29 to 2.38 and -0.32 to 0.26, Z = 2.50 and 0.23, p = 0.013 and 0.820, respectively). CONCLUSION: Results of our meta-analysis suggested that topical NSAIDs may enhance the IOP lowering effect of topical PGs in glaucoma patients.

Three-Year Outcomes of Patients with Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration Treated with Aflibercept under the National Health Insurance Program in Taiwan.

PURPOSE: To observe and analyze the long-term outcomes of patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) treated with aflibercept monotherapy under the National Health Insurance (NHI) program in Taiwan. METHODS: This retrospective observational study was conducted at Taipei Veterans General Hospital. Patients with naive nAMD who were treated with aflibercept and followed for more than 3 years were reviewed. The better eye was enrolled if both eyes were affected. Visual acuity (VA) and central macular thickness (CMT) were recorded for 3 years. The lost-to-follow-up rate, number of injections, and predictive factors for visual outcomes were analyzed. RESULTS: Ninety-nine eyes in 99 patients were followed up for 3 years. The mean age at onset of nAMD was 82.8 ± 9.26 years, and 65% of the patients were male. Compared with initial visual acuity, 5 (5.1%) of our patients improved their vision for 3 or more lines after 3 years of follow-up, 11 (11.1%) of our patients improved for 1 to 3 lines, 62 (62.6%) patients remained their vision with 1 line or less changes, 15 (15.2%) patients lost their vision for 1 to 3 lines, and 6 (6%) patients lost their vision for 3 or more lines. The CMT was 359 ± 180 µm before treatment and 259 ± 98 after 3 years (p < 0.001). The mean number of injections was 4.63 ± 1.91 in the first year, 2.13 ± 2.2 in the second year, and 1.42 ± 1.79 in the third year. Multivariate analysis showed that final VA was significantly associated with VA at year 1, the presence of retinal pigment epithelial detachment at year 1, and receiving more than four injections in the first year. Final CMT was only significantly associated with CMT at year 1. CONCLUSION: After 3 years of treatment under the NHI program in Taiwan, 21.2% of the patients with nAMD still had a visual decline despite good anatomical outcomes. More aggressive treatment or other strategies should be used for patients who may have a poor prognosis.

Serpiginoid choroiditis associated with presumed ocular tuberculosis.

The purpose of this study is to present a case with serpiginoid choroiditis with possible ocular tuberculosis. The intraocular inflammation and choroiditis were successfully controlled by systemic antituberculosis treatment. A 63-year-old female presented with progressive bilateral blurred vision for over a year. At presentation, her best-corrected visual acuity was 6/20 in her right eye and counting fingers at 10 cm in her left eye. A fundus examination showed diffuse patchy geographic retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) changes with some pigmentation in both eyes. Fluorescein angiography disclosed leakage from RPE lesions and discs as well as retinal vasculitis. Systemic survey results for rheumatic and infectious diseases were normal except for a positive QuantiFERON-TB Gold test result. Her uveitis improved and chorioretinal lesions stabilized from the 2nd month of antituberculosis treatment. The antituberculosis treatment was discontinued after a 12-month course. No recurrence of uveitis was noted during the following 2 months. Diagnosing ocular tuberculosis is challenging. The clinical presentation, interferon-gamma release assay test, and clinical response to antituberculosis therapy can support a presumed diagnosis of tubercular uveitis. This case highlights that serpiginoid choroiditis can be a clinical presentation of ocular tuberculosis. Clinicians should pay attention to this etiology when facing a serpiginous-like retinal appearance.

Ocular syphilis mimicking Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease.

The study aimed to present a case of ocular syphilis mimicking Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease. This is an observational case report. A 59-year-old female with Sicca syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis presented to the ophthalmologic department with blurred vision of the right eye for 5 days accompanied by color sensation loss in both eyes. Bilateral disc hyperemia and serous retinal detachment at the posterior pole were noted in her both eyes by fundus examination. Fluorescein angiography revealed bilateral late dye leakage from the disc and posterior choroid. Optical coherence tomography showed bilateral subretinal fluid and choroidal thickening. The impression of her condition was VKH disease initially. However, she was later diagnosed with bilateral ocular syphilis with optic neuritis which was proved by laboratory data. After appropriate antimicrobial agent treatment, her best-corrected visual acuity, serous retinal detachment, and disc hyperemia improved. There was no recurrent intraocular inflammation even without systemic steroid or immunosuppressive therapy control during the following 1 year. Ocular syphilis can mimic many other ocular inflammatory diseases including VKH disease. It is necessary to differentiate infectious causes from inflammatory origins due to the substantially different treatment and prognosis.

Rational shape-controlled synthesis of rhombic copper-based mesostructures.

Solution synthesis of optoelectronic components has the advantages of processability, bandgap tuning, and large-scale manufacturing potential. The synthesis of monodispersed rhombs in solution, however, has rarely been reported, even though rhombs are promising for realizing unique optical functions in integrated optoelectronics. We present in this article our success in developing a facile chemical method that used two polyols to generate nearly monodispersed metal-organic rhombic platelets. The success lies on the careful selection of precursors of proper oxidation states and the optimization of both the thermodynamic and the kinetic conditions for synthesis. Cuprous acetate, which acted as a heterogeneous nucleation agent, was dispersed in ethylene glycol, which acted as a stabilizer, a ligand, and a monomer for the formation of polymeric glycolates. By adjusting the volume ratio of polyethylene glycol (PEG) to ethylene glycol and the polymer size of PEG, rhombic platelets of 200-580 nm in side length and 170-240 nm in thickness were synthesized with aid of suitable structure-directing and dispersing agents. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and FT-IR analyses revealed that the rhombic platelets were mainly composed of copper glycolate polymer chains. Knowledge obtained from this study can be expected to be applied to and to shed light on broad research topics concerning novel metal-organic nanostructure syntheses.

Dewetting of copper nanolayers on silica in oxygen: towards preparation of copper meso/nanowires by self-organization.

The present study has examined the thermal behavior of copper on silicon oxide to clarify the diffusion of copper on dielectrics in an oxygen environment. Films of copper-deposited silicon oxide were prepared on silicon wafers and then annealed in oxygen. Self-organization of copper occurred to form line structures of multiple strips in a specific oxygen pressure range. The line orientation of the produced structures was related to the line defects formed from termination of stacking faults and dislocations at the wafer surface. The line density was determined by the oxygen pressure used. The results underline a possibility of synthesizing copper meso/nanowires on dielectrics via self-organization.