All India Ophthalmological Society (AIOS) Task Force guidelines to prevent intraocular infections and cluster outbreaks after cataract surgery.

Infectious endophthalmitis is a serious and vision-threatening complication of commonly performed intraocular surgeries such as cataract surgery. The occurrence of endophthalmitis can result in severe damage to the uveal and other ocular tissues even among patients undergoing an uncomplicated surgical procedure. If the infections result from common factors such as surgical supplies, operative or operation theater-related risks, there can be a cluster outbreak of toxic anterior segment syndrome (TASS) or infectious endophthalmitis, leading to several patients having an undesirable outcome. Since prevention of intraocular infections is of paramount importance to ophthalmic surgeons, the All India Ophthalmological Society (AIOS) has taken the lead in the formation of a National Task Force to help ophthalmic surgeons apply certain universal precautions in their clinical practice. The Task Force has prepared a handy checklist and evidence-based guidelines to minimize the risk of infectious endophthalmitis following cataract surgery.

Early Visual Functional Outcomes and Morphological Responses to Anti-Vascular Growth Factor Therapy in Diabetic Macular Oedema Using Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography.

PURPOSE: Diabetic macular oedema (DME) is a vision-threatening complication of diabetic retinopathy. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) is useful for assessing DME. We performed serial OCTA measurements before and after 3 monthly intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) injections to understand its relationship with best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central macular thickness (CMT) and vascular indices. METHODS: OCTA assessment consisting of 6 × 6 mm scans centred on fovea and en-face retinal angiograms were obtained. Scans were done at baseline and at 1 month following each of the 3 intravitreal injections of anti-VEGF (ranibizumab, Lucentis®). RESULTS: Our prospective study included 24 eyes of 24 subjects, aged 63.0 ± 5.0 years. There was a mean gain of 0.07 LogMAR (3 letters) and reduction of CMT, vessel density (VD) and perfusion density (PD) by end of 3rd month. CMT was independently associated with improvement in BCVA. There were significant reductions in FAZ area, VD and PD over 3 months from baseline. CONCLUSION: At three months, intravitreal anti-VEGF therapy is associated with visual function recovery in DME, with reduction in CMT being the most reliable predictor of response. OCTA shows a reduction in VD and PD respectively suggestive of reduced macular perfusion in the short term. Simultaneous reduction in FAZ size can be due to reversal of manual displacement of the retinal capillaries resulting from resolution of intraretinal oedema.

Need for manual segmentation in optical coherence tomography angiography of neovascular age-related macular degeneration.

PURPOSE: To compare the characteristics of eyes that had manual vs. automated segmentation of choroidal neovascular membrane (CNVM) using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). METHODS: All patients with CNVM underwent OCTA using the Zeiss Angioplex Cirrus 5000. Slabs of the avascular outer retina, outer retina to choriocapillaris (ORCC) region and choriocapillaris were generated. Manual segmentation was done when there were significant segmentation artifacts. Presence of activity of CNVM was adjudged by the presence of subretinal fluid (SRF) on structural OCT and was compared to activity detected on en face OCTA slabs based on well-defined criteria. RESULTS: Eighty-one eyes of 81 patients were recruited of which manual segmentation was required in 46 (57%). Eyes with automated segmentation had significantly more CNVM in the ORCC (75%) whereas those with manual segmentation had deeper CNVM (sub-RPE = 22%, intra-PED = 22%) (p<0.001). Twenty eyes (25%) were found to have active CNVM on both the structural OCT and OCTA while an additional 19 eyes were presumed to have active CNVM on OCTA alone. There was only modest concordance between disease activity detected using structural OCT and OCTA (Kappa = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.30 to 0.64). CONCLUSIONS: Manual segmentation of OCTA is required in more than 50% eyes with CNVM and this progressively increases with increasing depth of CNVM location from the ORCC to below the RPE. There is moderate concordance between OCTA and structural OCT in determining CNVM activity.

Mean platelet volume and central retinal vein occlusion in hypertensive patients.

OBJECTIVE: To study the relationship between mean platelet volume (MPV) and central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) in hypertensive patients. DESIGN: Hospital-based, retrospective, case control design. PARTICIPANTS: The sample group consisted of 100 patients with a known history of hypertension and who are diagnosed with CRVO. The control group consisted of 100 age and sex-matched patients with the sample group and who had a sole history of hypertension without any other systemic diseases and the best corrected visual acuity of 20/20 in both the eyes. METHODS: CRVO was diagnosed based on clinical examination. All cases and control subjects underwent complete ocular examination. MPV, platelet count, hemoglobin, white blood cell count and hematocrit parameters were recorded for both groups. The data of patients with CRVO was compared with the control subjects. Confidence interval was set at 95% with a P-value of < 0.05. RESULTS: MPV was significantly higher among hypertensive cases diagnosed with CRVO when compared with the hypertensive control group (8.059 ± 0.016, 7.442 ± 0.15 fL respectively; P < 0.001). The platelet count was lower in the control group, but the difference was not significant. The systolic blood pressure was significantly higher in the sample group. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrated that MPV values were significantly higher in patients with CRVO, suggesting that increased MPV may contribute to the development of CRVO.

Fluvoxamine-induced intracranial hypertension in a 10-year-old boy.

Drug-induced intracranial hypertension is a well-established entity. We report a rare case of intracranial hypertension with papilledema in a 10-year-old boy following use of fluvoxamine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. On discontinuing the drug, the papilledema resolved over 4 months without any residual visual anomalies. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of fluvoxamine-induced intracranial hypertension with papilledema.

Successful use of intravitreal and systemic colistin in treating multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa post-operative endophthalmitis.

We report a case series of post-operative endophthalmitis due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa. A total of 8 patients operated for cataract, were referred to our facility with acute onset of decreased vision 1-2 days following surgery. All patients had clinical evidence of acute exogenous endophthalmitis with severe anterior chamber exudative reaction. Ocular samples (aqueous aspirate and vitreous tap) for microbiology were taken from all eyes. Microbiology from all revealed P. aeruginosa which was resistant to all antibiotics except colistin. With prompt and accurate microbiological support it was possible to control the infection in all the eyes with the use of colistin intravitreally and intravenously which to the best of our knowledge, has been never reported. Intravitreal injection of colistin could be an option effective in the management of multi-drug-resistant endophthalmitis caused by Gram-negative bacteria.

Dosimetry and treatment planning of Occu-Prosta I-125 seeds for intraocular lesions.

Intraocular malignant lesions are frequently encountered in clinical practice. Plaque brachytherapy represents an effective means of treatment for intraocular lesions. Recently Radiopharmaceutical Division, BARC, Mumbai, has indigenously fabricated reasonable-cost I-125 sources. Here we are presenting the preliminary experience of dosimetry of sources, configuration of treatment planning system (TPS) and quality assurance (QA) for eye plaque therapy with Occu-Prosta I-125 seeds, treated in our hospital, for a patient with ocular lesions. I-125 seeds were calibrated using well-type chamber. BrachyVision TPS was configured with Monte Carlo computed radial dose functions and anisotropy functions for I-125 sources. Dose calculated by TPS at different points in central axis and off axis was compared with manually calculated dose. Eye plaque was fabricated of 17 karat pure gold, locally. The seeds were arranged in an outer ring near the edge of the plaque and in concentric rings throughout the plaque. The sources were manually digitized on the TPS, and dose distribution was calculated in three dimensions. Measured activity using cross-calibrated well-type chamber was within +/-10% of the activity specified by the supplier. Difference in TPS-calculated dose and manually calculated dose was within 5%. Treatment time calculated by TPS was in concordance with published data for similar plaque arrangement.