Epidemiological analysis of retinopathy of prematurity in a referral centre in Turkey.

PURPOSE: To collect data towards the establishment of a guideline to predict the population under risk for the development of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in Turkey. METHODS: Medical reports of 2950 preterm infants who underwent screening examinations for ROP between 1996 and 2010 at Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology were reviewed. The study population was classified as inpatient infants and referred infants. A risk factor analysis was performed limited to the 788 inpatient infants. The demographical variables regarding birth weight (BW), gestational age (GA) and postnatal age at the time of treatment were compared independently between 403 referred and 64 inpatient infants who were treated for severe ROP. RESULTS: The mean GA of the infants with severe ROP was 31.2±2.7 weeks, mean BW was 1543.4±508.3 g. The risk factor analysis of inpatient infants revealed BW<1500 g, GA<32 weeks; intraventricular haemorrhage, respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, apnoea and phototherapy were associated with a higher incidence of ROP. In addition, sepsis, male gender, multiple gestations, BW<1500 g were associated with a higher incidence of progression to severe ROP, whereas maternal pre-eclampsia was associated with a lower incidence. On the other hand, comparison of demographic features revealed that the referred infants with ROP were born at a significantly higher BW and needed significantly earlier treatment than inpatient infants with ROP. CONCLUSIONS: The high BW and GA of infants with severe ROP indicate wider screening criteria should be used in our country. BW might be a more important criterion than GA for ROP screening.

Assessment of anterior chamber inflammation after intravitreal bevacizumab injection in different ocular exudative diseases.

PURPOSE: To investigate the inflammation of the anterior chamber after intravitreal bevacizumab injection in different ocular exudative diseases. METHODS: The study included 76 eyes from 62 consecutive patients with different ocular exudative diseases. The patients were divided into the 3 following groups: group 1 (nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy), group 2 (choroidal neovascularization secondary to age-related macular degeneration), and group 3 (macular edema with branch or central retinal vein occlusion). The study also included 32 age-matched control patients. Inflammation of the anterior chamber was examined with flare-cell photometry before and after an intravitreal injection of 1.25 mg of bevacizumab. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences between the measurements at baseline and postoperative day 1, 3, 7, or 30 in any of the groups (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The extent of inflammation in the anterior chamber did not change after intravitreal bevacizumab injection in patients with nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy, choroidal neovascularization secondary to age-related macular degeneration, or macular edema due to branch or central vein occlusion.

Toxic keratopathy due to abuse of topical anesthetic drugs.

OBJECTIVE: To describe 8 cases of toxic keratopathy due to abuse of topical anesthetic drugs. METHODS: Clinical findings from patients with toxic keratopathy were investigated retrospectively. RESULTS: Two patients had toxic keratopathy bilaterally. Five of 8 patients had an ocular history of a corneal foreign body, 1 had basal membrane dystrophy, 1 had ultraviolet radiation, and 1 had chemical burn. All patients had undergone psychiatric consultation. Four patients had anxiety disorder and 1 had bipolar disease. Clinical signs were improved in all patients with discontinuation of topical anesthetic drug use along with adjunctive psychiatric treatment. Penetrating keratoplasty was performed in 2 patients. CONCLUSION: Toxic keratopathy due to topical anesthetic abuse is a curable disease. Early diagnosis and prevention of topical anesthetic drug use are the most important steps in the treatment of this condition. As these patients commonly exhibit psychiatric disorders, adjunctive psychiatric treatment may help to break the chemical addiction.

Eye rubbing as an apparent cause of recurrent keratoconus.

PURPOSE: To report a case of recurrent keratoconus after penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) because of allergic conjunctivitis. METHOD: Case report. RESULTS: A 23-year-old woman who had successful bilateral PKP presented with complaints of visual impairment 3 years after the last examination. She also complained of severe ocular itching and hyperemia, and she reported a history of vigorous eye rubbing. The diagnosis of recurrent keratoconus was confirmed based on clinical findings and topographic features. CONCLUSIONS: A recurrence of keratoconus can occur because of itch-provoked rubbing of the eyes. Patients who had PKP should be evaluated for a history of ocular allergies.