Retinal Structural and Vascular Changes in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Retinal microvascular anomalies have been identified in patients with cardiovascular conditions such as arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and carotid artery disease. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis (PROSPERO registration number CRD42024506589) to explore the potential of retinal vasculature as a biomarker for diagnosis and monitoring of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) through optical coherence tomography (OCT) and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). METHODS: We systematically examined original articles in the Pubmed, Embase, and Web of Science databases from their inception up to November 2023, comparing retinal microvascular features between patients with CAD and control groups. Studies were included if they reported sample mean with standard deviation or median with range and/or interquartile range (which were computed into mean and standard deviation). Review Manager 5.4 (The Cochrane Collaboration, 2020) software was used to calculate the pooled effect size with weighted mean difference and 95% confidence intervals (CI) by random-effects inverse variance method. RESULTS: Eleven studies meeting the inclusion criteria were incorporated into the meta-analysis. The findings indicated a significant decrease in the retinal nerve fiber layer (WMD -3.11 [-6.06, -0.16]), subfoveal choroid (WMD -58.79 [-64.65, -52.93]), and overall retinal thickness (WMD -4.61 [-7.05, -2.17]) among patients with CAD compared to controls (p < 0.05). Furthermore, vascular macular density was notably lower in CAD patients, particularly in the superficial capillary plexus (foveal vessel density WMD -2.19 [-3.02, -1.135], p < 0.0001). Additionally, the foveal avascular zone area was statistically larger in CAD patients compared to the control group (WMD 52.73 [8.79, 96.67], p = 0.02). Heterogeneity was significant (I2 > 50%) for most features except for subfoveal choroid thickness, retina thickness, and superficial foveal vessel density. CONCLUSION: The current meta-analysis suggests that retinal vascularization could function as a noninvasive biomarker, providing additional insights beyond standard routine examinations for assessing dysfunction in coronary arteries.

Performances of Corneal Topography and Tomography in the Diagnosis of Subclinical and Clinical Keratoconus.

Aim: The purpose of the study was to assess the efficacy of topographical and tomographical indices given by the Pentacam (pachymetric, tomopetric, and aberometric) in clinical and subclinical keratoconus (KCN) diagnosis. Material and Methods: In this observational analytic retrospective study, patients with abnormal findings in topography and tomography maps but with no signs on clinical examination (subclinical KCN group, sKCN), patients with clinical keratoconus (KCN group), and healthy subjects (Control group) were evaluated. Results: The KCN group proved significantly different (p < 0.001) values of the investigated parameters than the Control group. Eleven out of 28 investigated parameters proved significantly different in the sKCN group compared to controls (p < 0.001). Two topographic measurements, namely I-S (cut-off = 1.435, a large value indicates the presence of KCN) and CCT (cut-off = 537, a small value indicates the presence of KCN), showed AUCs equal to 1 [0.999 to 1]. Six other Pentacam measurements, including Back maximum keratometry (Back Kmax) proved to be excellent parameters for case-finding and screening. In distinguishing sKCN from normal eyes, Pentacam index of vertical asymmetry (IVA), inferior-superior difference (I-S) value, thinnest point (TP), Belin Ambrosio Enhanced Ectasia Display (BAD_D) and root mean square total (RMS total) performed best. Conclusions: In distinguishing sKCN from normal eyes, Back Kmax, IVA, I-S, and RMS total values demonstrated higher accuracy and utility. Six indices, namely ISV, IVA, KISA, PRC, RMS-HOA, and Back Kmax demonstrate excellent utility in case-finding and screening for clinical KCN.

Long term visual outcomes in cataract surgery with bilateral implantation of the Extended Depth of Focus Intraocular Lens - Mini Well Ready type.

Purpose: To evaluate the refractive results, visual outcomes and patients' satisfaction of a new extended depth-of-focus (EDOF) intraocular lens (IOL). Setting: Oculens Clinic, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Design: Retrospective, single-center, observational study. Methods: 104 eyes of 52 patients undergoing cataract surgery with implantation of the Mini Well Ready EDOF-IOL (SIFI, Catania, Italy) were included in the study. Visual acuity at distance, intermediate and near was evaluated at 1, 6 and 12 months. Refractive results, contrast sensitivity, defocus curve and photic phenomena were also assessed. Results: The mean age of patients was 66.04±7.82. A significant reduction of the spherical equivalent and improvement of corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) was observed (p<0.0001) after the surgery. All eyes obtained a CDVA of 0.5 or better at one month. All eyes achieved a corrected intermediate visual acuity (CIVA) of 0.5 or better and a corrected near visual acuity (CNVA) of 0.5 or better. At 12 months the spherical equivalent was within -0.5- +0.5 diopters (D). Conclusions: The EDOF-IOL offers good visual outcomes at distance, intermediate and near vision, providing an adequate contrast sensitivity and low rate of visual disturbances.

Comparative Results Between "Epi-Off" Accelerated and "Epi-Off" Standard Corneal Collagen Crosslinking-UVA in Progressive Keratoconus - 7 Years of Follow-Up.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the present study was to assess the long-term efficiency and safety of the "epi-off" accelerated CXL (9 mW/cm2 for 10 minutes) in comparison to the standard "epi-off" CXL (3 mW/cm2 for 30 minutes) in terms of topographical and keratometric parameters, refractive data and visual outcomes at 7 years of follow-up, in progressive keratoconus. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A retrospective and comparative study was performed. A total of 183 eyes from 183 patients with documented progressive keratoconus were included in the study. The patients were divided in two groups: 93 eyes from 93 patients underwent "epi-off" standard cross-linking technique (3 mW/cm2 for 30 minutes) (S-CXL group) and 90 eyes from 90 patients underwent accelerated "epi-off" corneal CXL technique (9 mW/cm2 for 10 minutes) (A-CXL group). RESULTS: Improvements in uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA) were statistically significant compared to baseline values in both groups at each time-point visit (p=0.0421 at 1 year, p=0.0411 at 7 years for A-CXL and p=0.0375 at 1 year, p=0.0389 at 7 years for S-CXL). At 7 years there was a statistically significant increase in CDVA (p=0.039 in the A-CXL group and p=0.0343 in the S-CXL group at 7 years). Statistically significant reduction was noticed in Ksteep (p=0.0411 in A-CXL group and p=0.0224 in S-CXL group), Kflat (p=0.0198 in A-CXL group and p=0.008 in S-CXL group), K mean (p=0.0106 in A-CXL group and p=0.0193 in S-CXL group) and Kmax (p=0.0413 in A-CXL group and p=0.054 in S-CXL group) at 7 years, compared to baseline values, in both groups, but without any statistically difference between the two procedures, at all time-point visits (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: The long-term outcomes of "epi-off" accelerated corneal collagen crosslinking-UVA (9 mW/cm2 for 10 minutes) are similar to standard "epi-off" corneal collagen crosslinking procedure in the treatment of progressive keratoconus.

Intraosseous venous malformation of the zygomatico-orbital complex. Case report and literature review with focus on confusions in vascular lesion terms.

Intraosseous vascular malformations (VascM) of the facial skeleton are rare entities, raising difficulties even today in their treatment. We present a case for zygomatic intraosseous venous malformation of traumatic etiology with growth dynamics presentation and a multidisciplinary treatment approach, with intravascular embolization surgical ablation and primary reconstructruction using a titanium patient-specific implant (PSI), and a review of the literature for intraosseous vascular lesions of the facial skeleton focusing on the diagnostic syntagms used by the involved medical personnel, to shed light on the confusions over these terms.

NONICHEMIC CENTRAL RETINAL VEIN OCCLUSION ASSOCIATED WITH HEREDITARY THROMBOPHYLIA.

Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) is the second most common retinal vein disease with significant visual loss via thrombus or compression of vein wall. Thrombophilia is the predisposition to vascular thrombosis with the existence of genetic defect that leads to blood hypercoagulability. This report describes the case of a 55 year old male patient, with an active life who presented himself at the emergency room with acute visual lose, insidious and progressive visual field constriction, without any known history of neurological or vascular diseases. The examinations revealed unilateral optic nerve head edema, the fluorescein angiography was specific for nonischemic central retinal vein occlusion CRVO complicated with macular edema. Blood examinations has emphasized the presence of the heterozygous mutation A1298C in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene (MTHFR), the only one presented from the thrombophilia screen panel and a slightly elevated cholesterol level. During the follow-up period, the patient received anti-VEGF treatment (Bevacizumab, 3x 0.1 ml intravitreal injections) with improved visual acuity and amendment of macular edema. The complex etiology calls for interdisciplinary approach to determine better the cause of this ophthalmological disease. Although studies have found a correlation between some thrombophilia mutations and retinal vein occlusion, more studies that contain a larger number of patients are necessary in order to determine the final role of these gene variants.

A study on the type of lesions achieved by three electrosurgical methods and their way of healing.

The technical progress in the medical sector in the past decades has continuously driven the development of electrosurgical techniques. The controversies surrounding the superiority of a certain technique relative to another - electrocautery, laser and radiofrequency - have determined us to carry out a histopathological design with the aim of comparing the healing sort of the shallow wounds generated by the three types of electrosurgical devices. The experimental study has investigated the healing process inflicted by the electrosurgical devices mentioned beforehand on 12 Wistar albino rats. The wounds were inflicted under intravenous general anesthesia with Xylazine and Ketamine and were performed lateral to the spine region, using laser, radiofrequency and electric cautery. The histological samples harvested at one, three, five, and seven days were sent to pathological examination. We followed by comparison the evolution of the first two phases of the wound healing produced by the three electrosurgical methods analyzed. We described the histopathological changes occurred in the epidermis, dermis and hypodermis and also the subcutaneous soft tissues in all of the three types of lesions. Electrocautery remains the most frequently used electrosurgical device, even if it has unquestionable disadvantages as compared to other modern instruments. Laser-assisted surgery and radiofrequency are refine energy-based instrumentation, being utilized at a multidisciplinary surgical level.