Diabetic keratopathy.

Diabetic keratopathy is a significant problem that is commonly overlooked and underdiagnosed by many healthcare providers. More than half of the diabetic population can have tear film changes, corneal epithelial abnormalities, neurotrophic keratopathy, and increased postoperative surgical complications. Clinical manifestations can be quite variable and thus diabetic patients with ocular complaints should be referred to an eye care professional. Treatment of diabetic keratopathy can be managed with a stepwise approach that includes increasing corneal surface lubrication, preventing infections of corneal epithelial defects with prophylactic antibiotic eye drops, and reducing exposure to avoid corneal melting .

Standardized approach to training for cataract surgery skill evaluation.

PURPOSE: To assess interrater reliability in grading cataract surgery performance of ophthalmology residents and attending physicians before and after rater skill training. SETTING: Metropolitan Chicago, Illinois, USA. DESIGN: Prospective interventional test design. METHODS: Video versions of a previously validated scoring key for rating cataract surgery were created for participant training. All participants received 2 frame-of-reference training sessions lasting 2 hours each. Participants graded 4 videorecorded cataract surgeries before training (pretest) and 4 more after training (posttest). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), which measured the degree of rater agreement, were calculated before and after training. Participants completed a subjective confidence questionnaire at the beginning and at the end of the study. RESULTS: The study participants included 9 postgraduate year (PGY)-3 residents, 8 PGY-4 residents, and 5 ophthalmology attending physicians from 4 medical centers in metropolitan Chicago. The rater training sessions had the greatest increase in ICCs among PGY-3 residents. The ICC improvement between the PGY-4 residents and attending physicians was uneven. After training, all residents felt more confident about their ability to rate and to perform cataract surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Learning to effectively grade performance of cataract surgery by reviewing video clips has the potential to be an important part of ophthalmology residency education. The benefit of such a protocol was greatest in the early stages of residency education and might provide a guideline for quality assessment that accelerates surgical skill development. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: None of the authors has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned.

Complication rate of posterior capsule rupture with vitreous loss during phacoemulsification at a Hawaiian cataract surgical center: a clinical audit.

PURPOSE: To compare the complication rate of posterior capsule rupture (PCR) with vitreous loss during phacoemulsification at an ambulatory surgical center with published results as a clinical audit for quality control. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of 3,339 consecutive patients who underwent routine phacoemulsification by four experienced private practice surgeons from January 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012 at The Surgical Suites, Honolulu, HI, USA. All cases with PCR and vitreous loss were identified and selected for the study. Risk factors of this complication were further examined. Data were sent to John H Stroger Jr Hospital of Cook County, Division of Ophthalmology, for literature review, analysis, and write-up. RESULTS: Twenty-three of the 3,339 cases incurred PCR and vitreous loss during phacoemulsification, for an incidence rate of 0.68%. Miosis, shallow chamber, restlessness, pseudoexfoliation syndrome, floppy iris syndrome, and zonulopathy were the main causes. In addition, surgeon volume (number of cases) was inversely correlated with PCR. CONCLUSION: The rate of PCR with vitreous loss during phacoemulsification in this study may be lower than other published results done at academic centers. However, there was no compatible study available for comparison, as existing studies performed at academic centers included resident cases. This study identified risk factors for PCR/vitreous loss both preoperatively and postoperatively that may assist in application of preventive measures to decrease rates of PCR/vitreous loss.

Intraocular lens power calculation after radial keratotomy: estimating the refractive corneal power.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the most accurate method for corneal power determination in patients with previous radial keratotomy (RK). SETTING: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, Texas, USA. METHODS: A retrospective review of data for 16 eyes of 14 patients with a history of RK and subsequent phacoemulsification and posterior chamber intraocular lens (IOL) implantation was performed. Outcome measures included axial length, postoperative topography, type and power of IOL implanted, and postoperative spherical equivalent (SE) refraction at 3 to 6 months. Average central corneal power (ACCP) was defined as the average of the mean powers of the central Placido rings. For each eye, simulated K-readings and different values of ACCP computed corresponding to different central corneal diameters were used in each case, along with the implanted IOL power, to back-calculate the SE refraction (Ref) via the double-K adjusted Holladay 1 IOL formula. The predicted refractive error was hence computed as (Ref - SE), both in algebraic and absolute values. RESULTS: The ACCP over the central 3.0 mm (ACCP(3mm)) yielded the lowest absolute predicted refractive error (0.25 +/- 0.38 diopters [D]), which was statistically lower than the error for ACCP(1mm) (P<.001) and for the simulated K-value (P = .033). It also resulted in 87.5% of eyes being within +/-0.50 D and 100% within +/-1.00 D of the actual postoperative refraction. CONCLUSIONS: Corneal refractive power after RK was best described by averaging the topographic data of the central 3.0 mm area. Applying this method, together with a double-K IOL formula, achieved excellent IOL power predictability.