Evaluation of Anatomical and Functional Outcome of Epiretinal Membrane Surgery in Idiopathic Epiretinal Membrane Patients.

Objective To evaluate the anatomical and functional outcomes of an idiopathic epiretinal membrane (ERM) between the observation group and intervention group at six months postoperative. Design Prospective cohort study. Participants Patients who met the clinical diagnosis of idiopathic ERM in the age frame of 18-80 years; patients with reduced visual acuity (VA), with best corrected VA of 0.2 LogMar or worse, with symptoms of significant metamorphopsia, who visited our center from June 2021 to June 2022. Methods All idiopathic ERM patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were selected. The data recorded included the year of ERM diagnosis, duration of symptoms, age at diagnosis, gender, ethnicity, and presence of other ocular pathologies. Corrected VA, lens status, ERM configuration, and central subfield mean thickness (CST) in spectral domain-optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), ellipsoid zone integrity (EZ), and disorganized retinal inner layer (DRIL) were recorded for all patients at diagnosis, as well as 3 and 6 months after diagnosis for non-operated patients. For patients who underwent surgery (pars plana vitrectomy (PPV), internal limiting membrane (ILM), and ERM peel), data were recorded similarly with additional data on the type of surgery (vitrectomy or combined phaco vitrectomy) and the development of intra or post-surgical complications. Patients receive information on the symptoms associated with ERM, treatment options, and disease progression. After counseling, the patient makes informed consent to the treatment plan. Patients are seen in the 3rd and 6th month from diagnosis. Combined phaco vitrectomy is performed if there is also significant lens opacity. Main outcome measures VA, CST, EZ, and DRIL at diagnosis and 6 months. Results Sixty subjects (30 interventional and 30 observational arms) were recruited for this study. The mean age in the intervention and observation groups was 62.70 and 64.10 years, respectively. Most ERM patients were female in the intervention group compared to males with 55.2% and 45.2% respectively. The mean pre-op CST was 410.03 µm in the intervention group compared to the pre-op CST 357.13 µm observation group. There were significantly different among groups in pre-op CST (p=0.009) using the independent T-test. Furthermore, the mean difference and 95% confidence interval in post-op CST were -69.67 (-99.17, -40.17). There were significant differences among groups in post-op CST (p<0.001) using the independent T-test. Meanwhile, there is no significant association of DRIL between both groups (p=0.23), with 95% CI of mean difference (-0.13, -0.01) using repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA) test. There was a significant association of EZ integrity between groups (p=<0.001), 95% CI of mean difference: (-0.13, -0.01) using a repeated measure ANOVA test. Furthermore, the mean post-op VA between pre and post-op VA was significantly different (p<0.001), with a 95% CI of mean difference (-0.85, -0.28). Finally, there is a significant factor association between the duration of ERM and post-op VA (b=.023, 95% CI .001, .05, p<0.05) with our patients. Conclusion ERM surgery has shown positive outcomes on anatomical and functional aspects with minimal safety-related risks. It is evident that a longer duration of ERM does give a minimal impact on the outcome. SD-OCT biomarkers, such as CST, EZ, and DRIL, can be used as reliable prognosticators in decision-making for surgical intervention.

Survival Time of Visual Gains after Diabetic Vitrectomy and Its Relationship with Ischemic Heart Disease.

Vitrectomy surgery in proliferative diabetic retinopathy improves the vision-related quality of life. However, there is lack of data on the duration of maintenance of visual gains post vitrectomy. This study thus aimed to determine the survival time of visual gains and the prognostic factors of vision loss after vitrectomy surgery for complications of proliferative diabetic retinopathy. A retrospective cohort study was conducted in an ophthalmology clinic in Malaysia. We included 134 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus on follow-up after vitrectomy for proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Visual acuity was measured using the log of minimum angle of resolution (LogMar). A gain of ≥0.3 LogMar sustained on two subsequent visits was considered evidence of visual improvement post vitrectomy. Subjects were considered to have vision loss when their post-operative visual acuity subsequently dropped by ≥0.3 LogMar. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to determine the survival time of visual gains. Cox Proportional Hazard regression was used to determine the prognostic factors of vision loss. The median age of patients was 56.00 years (IQR ± 10.00). The median duration of diabetes mellitus was 14.00 years (IQR ± 10.00). Approximately 50% of patients with initial improvement post vitrectomy subsequently experienced vision loss. The survival time, i.e., the median time from surgery until the number of patients with vision loss formed half of the original cohort, was 14.63 months (95% CI: 9.95, 19.32). Ischemic heart disease was a significant prognostic factor of vision loss. Patients with underlying ischemic heart disease (adjusted HR: 1.97, 95% CI: 1.18, 3.33) had a higher risk of vision loss post vitrectomy, after adjusting for other factors. Approximately half the patients with initial visual gains post vitrectomy maintained their vision for at least one year. Ischemic heart disease was a poor prognostic factor for preservation of visual gains post vitrectomy.

Endogenous Endophthalmitis: A Five-year Review of Cases at the Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital, Kelantan, Malaysia.

Background Endogenous endophthalmitis (EE) is a type of intraocular inflammation secondary to hematogenous spread from a distant infective source within the body and usually occurs in immunocompromised patients. Objectives The aim of this study was to profile the patient characteristics, sources of infection, microbial profiles, and visual outcomes of patients with EE in Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital in Kelantan, Malaysia. Materials and methods Data from 18 eyes of 17 patients diagnosed with EE and admitted to the eye ward of Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital from January 2012 to December 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. Factors analyzed included patient age, sources of infection, visual acuity, microbial profiles, and treatment outcomes. Results The mean age of the 17 patients was 53.2 years. Twelve patients (70.6%) had EE of left eye, four (23.5%) had EE of right eye, and one (5.9%) had EE involving both the eyes. Sixteen patients (91.1%) had at least one predisposing condition, the most common of which was diabetes mellitus in 15 patients (88.2%). A source of infection was identified in 12 of the 17 patients, with urinary tract infection being the most common (five patients, 29.4%). Organisms were successfully isolated from 10 (58.8%) patients, including seven (41.2%) with Gram-negative and three (17.6%) with Gram-positive organisms. All patients presented with a visual acuity worse than 6/60. Nine (52.9%) patients underwent vitrectomy, with only two of these patients achieving a final visual acuity better than 6/60. Eleven patients became nonperceptive to light, with four of them undergoing evisceration. Conclusions EE is a rare but often devastating ocular condition. Visual outcomes are often poor especially in patients infected with Gram-negative bacteria.