Incidence of vitreous loss and visual outcome following cataract surgery by surgeons with various levels of experience at a tertiary eye care center in North India.

Purpose: To determine the incidence of vitreous loss and visual outcome after a vitreous loss during cataract surgery performed by surgeons with various levels of experience in adults >40 years of age at a tertiary eye care center in North India. Methods: The study was conducted at a tertiary eye care center in North India. This was an observational, retrospective, cross-sectional study of patients who underwent cataract surgery from August 1, 2011 to July 31, 2014. All adult cataract cases who were operated on from August 1, 2011 to July 31, 2014 and who experienced vitreous loss during their surgery were included in the study. The visual outcomes of these patients who experienced vitreous loss during cataract surgery in uncomplicated cataract and were managed using standard automated vitrectomy techniques were assessed for different cataract surgical techniques (extracapsular, small-incision, and phacoemulsification) as well as at different levels of skill of the operative surgeon (consultant, short term fellow, and long-term fellow). Details of the postoperative period and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) were collected from patient records by the principal investigator on day 1, 1 week, 4 weeks, 6 weeks, and 3 months post cataract surgery. Results: Vitreous loss occurred in 374 out of 18,430 patients who underwent cataract surgery from August 1, 2011 to July 31, 2014. The overall incidence of vitreous loss in our study was found to be 2.03% with consultants having a rate of 1.66%, short-term fellows at 5.19%, and long-term fellows at 2.02%. Two hundred eighty-eight patients of the 374 cases followed up for 3 months at the hospital and 75.69% of these patients had a final visual acuity of ≥6/18. Conclusion: In an institute with a structured training program for residents/trainees, the vitreous loss rate is low during cataract surgery. Early intervention and proper management with the standard microsurgical technique by experienced hands can improve the final visual outcome in eyes with vitreous loss. Cystoid macular edema and corneal edema were the most common causes of poor postoperative vision.

Retinal manifestations of ophthalmic artery occlusion with ischemic stroke in a young patient with COVID-19.

COVID-19-associated coagulopathy (CAC) has led to an increase in the incidence of large vessel stroke and cryptogenic shock. We present a case of a 30-year-old COVID-19-positive patient who developed an internal carotid artery (ICA) thrombosis, which led to ischemic stroke, aphasia, and unilateral blindness. Ophthalmic artery occlusion (OAO) was found to be the cause of vision loss. We thereby aim to highlight the detailed ophthalmic manifestations of OAO with features of posterior ciliary artery occlusion (PCAO) in this patient with proven ICA thrombosis.

Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis manifesting as Bell's palsy and bilateral macular necrotizing retinitis: an atypical presenting feature.

BACKGROUND: Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is a potentially lethal complication of measles infection. Neurological complications take years to manifest after primary viral infection of brain and can lead to blindness in some individuals. FINDINGS: A 13-year-old female patient with history of Bell's palsy 2 months prior, presented with rapidly progressing necrotizing retinitis in both eyes. Soon after, she was unable to walk, developed myoclonic jerks, altered sensorium and loss of bowel and bladder control. Her clinical history, CSF IgG measles antibody analysis, MRI brain and EEG findings confirmed the diagnosis of SSPE. CONCLUSION: SSPE in our case presented as Bell's palsy and sudden painless diminution of vision due to ocular involvement, and developed full blown disease within 2 months. SSPE can present as a diagnostic challenge and warrants early identification and referral for timely diagnosis and management.

Microbiological and Antibiotic Sensitivity Profile of Postoperative Endophthalmitis in a Tertiary Eye Care Hospital of North India.

INTRODUCTION: We describe the microbiological profile of postoperative endophthalmitis from northern India and analyse the pattern of antibiotic sensitivity which may have changed due to development of resistance secondary to overuse of antimicrobial drugs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective study of postoperative endophthalmitis from January 2011 to December 2017 in a tertiary eye hospital of northern India. Any patient developing endophthalmitis within one year of any intraocular procedure was included in the study. According to severity, treatment with a trial of intravitreal antibiotic injections or core vitrectomy was decided. Ocular samples were collected which were either anterior chamber tap or vitreous biopsy and sent for microbiological examination. The samples were stained with Gram's and KOH stain and cultured on chocolate agar, blood agar, brain heart infusion broth and Sabouraud dextrose agar. RESULTS: A total of 545 patients of postoperative endophthalmitis were analysed which showed a male predilection (60.5%) with maximum patients between the age group 50-69 years. 292 patients (53.5%) were culture negative and 253 patients (46.4%) were culture positive. Most common organism identified was Staphylococcus in 73 patients followed by Pseudomonas in 48 patients. Staphylococcus species was most sensitive to vancomycin (97%) followed by amikacin (91%) followed by gentamicin and moxifloxacin (88% each). Pseudomonas was the second most common isolate which showed maximum sensitivity to imipenem (82%) followed by ciprofloxacin(60%). Polymicrobial infection was noted in 23 patients. The most common fungal isolate was aspergillus in 11 patients, followed by fusarium in 10 patients. CONCLUSION: Our study shows that gram positive bacteria are the most common organisms in postoperative endophthalmitis and are most sensitive to vancomycin, followed by gram negative bacteria which show increased sensitivity with imipenem than commonly used antibiotic - ceftazidime.

Multiple retinal astrocytic hamartomas in siblings with lebers congenital amaurosis: a case series and review of literature.

BACKGROUND: Leber's congenital amaurosis (LCA) is a known inherited retinal disease (IRD) associated with severe visual loss, nystagmus, amaurotic pupils, oculo-digital sign and markedly reduced or absent electroretinograms (ERG). Retinal astrocytic hamartomas (RAH) is a benign vascularized glial tumor of the retina. There is no known association of these two entities, more so in siblings. CASE PRESENTATION: A pair of siblings diagnosed as LCA who presented with RAH with no extraocular symptoms or signs of phakomatosis were imaged. Multimodal imaging was performed and are elaborately described in this article. CONCLUSION: LCA in siblings with multiple RAHs is an extremely rare association. Recent advances in retinal imaging tools have aided in diagnosing even subtle and early RAH with high sensitivity using Infrared imaging (IRI) and Optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Tuberculous scleritis in a young Asian Indian girl-a case presentation and literature review.

Scleritis is the severe painful inflammation of the sclera, which can be infectious or non-infectious. Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the common causes of infectious scleritis. TB, though endemic in countries like India, is rare in pediatric age group. We report a case of a 9-year-old female child who presented with bilateral non-necrotizing anterior scleritis with unilateral posterior scleritis secondary to TB. To our knowledge, this is a rare presentation in pediatric age group, and she is the youngest of few cases of tuberculous posterior scleritis reported in literature.

The blinding bug found in the eye.

Tubercular uveitis is a common manifestation of tuberculosis (TB) in TB-endemic countries. Due to lack of gold standard diagnostic tests for confirming intraocular TB, it is often either underdiagnosed or rarely over diagnosed. We report a case of a 28-year-old woman with diminution of vision in the left eye. She was started on antitubercular treatment (ATT) and steroids but she did not comply with the treatment. She developed progressive painful loss of vision consequently and was treated with vitrectomy and silicone oil tamponade. After a complete course of ATT, she recovered, salvaging of eye and restoration of some vision was possible. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is rarely demonstrated in the ocular fluid samples of the suspected cases of TB due to the paucibacillary nature of the disease. A vitreous sample can be obtained from these patients. Surgical intervention in the form of vitrectomy and silicone oil tamponade can help in avoiding enucleation/evisceration.

Surgical and visual outcomes of posterior dislocated lens fragments after cataract surgery during 5-years at a tertiary eye hospital of North India.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the surgical and visual outcomes of posteriorly dislocated lens fragments in the vitreous cavity in patients undergoing cataract surgery. METHODS: A total of 149 eyes of 149 patients from 2013 to 2018 were included in the study. The primary cataract surgery was performed either at the base hospital and its peripheral centres or referred from elsewhere. Pars plana vasectomy and nucleus removal was performed along with implantation of intraocular lens, wherever possible. Success was defined as best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) ≥ 6/12 at 3 months follow up. Poor visual outcome was defined as per WHO guidelines as BCVA ≤ 3/60. RESULTS: Posterior capsular rupture and dislocation into vitreous cavity most frequently occurred during phaco-fragmentation in cases of phacoemulsification and during nucleus delivery in cases of small incision cataract surgery. Early vitrectomy was performed within 3 days in 36.2% of cases and within 14 days in 63.8% of cases. Successful visual outcome was achieved in 85.2% of patients at 3 months follow up after vitrectomy. Iatrogenic retinal break occurred in five patients during vitrectomyand five patients had retinal detachment. Poor visual outcome was observed in 12eyes, out of which glaucomatous optic neuropathy seen in 5 cases, cystoid or diabeticmacular edema in 4 cases and age related macular degeneration in 3 cases. CONCLUSION: Posterior dislocation of lens can be successfully managed in majority of cases with vitreoretinal surgical intervention. The timing of vitrectomy whether performed early or late did not affect the visual outcome. The most important predictorof final visual acuity after PPV for retained lens fragments is a less complicated clinical course without any associated complications such as retinal detachment, cystoidmacula edema and glaucoma. Expertise of the primary cataract surgeon could not be assessed in this study, though surgeon grade with more experience is an important factor in the assessment of complications during the cataract surgery.

Syphilitic uveitis misdiagnosed as viral retinitis-a misleading history.

BACKGROUND: Syphilitic uveitis is an infective uveitis and a great mimicker. Misdiagnosis can lead to delay in the specific treatment resulting in deterioration of uveitis and loss of vision. FINDINGS: A 38-year-old unmarried female presented with pain, redness, and blurring of vision in the left eye for the last 5 days. She denied history of any sexual exposure in the past. Anterior segment examination of the right eye was normal and the left eye showed keratic precipitates with anterior chamber cells and iris pigments on anterior lens capsule. Fundus examination of the right eye showed a hyperemic disc with posterior placoid retinochoroiditis and the left eye showed dense vitritis, hyperemic disc, and superficial retinal precipitates. She was misdiagnosed as viral retinitis elsewhere and started on antivirals with oral corticosteroids which resulted in deterioration of uveitis and progression to bilateral involvement. Further systemic investigations confirmed the diagnosis of syphilis and human immunodeficiency virus infection. She was then started on anti-syphilitic and anti-retroviral therapy which resulted in restoration of the vision in one eye. CONCLUSION: Syphilitic uveitis does not occur in primary disease and is common in secondary and early latent phase of syphilis. History given by the patient is often contributory however at times can be misleading. A high clinical suspicion and thorough investigation is necessary for the correct diagnosis and timely intervention in preventing loss of vision.

A rare case of scleral buckle infection with Curvularia species.

BACKGROUND: Scleral buckling is an established modality of treating retinal detachment. Being an external implant the buckle may be prone to infections. We report such a case with a delayed presentation and a rare etiology. CASE PRESENTATION: A 45 year old male presented with redness, foreign body sensation and discharge for one month in his right eye. The patient had undergone a retinal detachment surgery elsewhere 14 years back without any visual gain. Right eye demonstrated no perception of light and the best corrected visual acuity in the left eye was 6/6, N6. On downgaze an exposed and anteriorly displaced scleral buckle was identified with black deposits and mucopurulent material overlying the buckle. Scleral buckle removal was done. On microbiological examination Curvularia species was identified. Successful treatment with antifungals was done. CONCLUSIONS: Scleral buckle infection with dematiaceous fungi is a rare occurrence. To the best of our knowledge this is the first case report describing a buckle infection caused by the curvularia species.

Managing multiple caterpillar hair in the eye.

Ophthalmia nodosa with vitreoretinal involvement is rare and may cause permanent loss of eye due to persistent inflammation of the eye. A young female patient having multiple caterpillar hair in the eye including cornea, anterior chamber, sclera, and pars plana presented with recurrent vitritis and pars planitis. Ultrasound biomicroscopy played a vital role and helped in localizing the hair embedded in the pars plana region which were managed by pars plana vitrectomy leading to complete recovery.