Incidence and characteristics of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment during coronavirus-19 pandemic: A French study.

PURPOSE: To assess the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown on the number and clinical characteristics of patients with retinal detachment (RD) in a French public university eye hospital. METHODS: Single-center, retrospective non-interventional study. Patients consulting at the emergency room (ER) of Quinze-Vingts Hospital (France) for rhegmatogenous RD before and after instauration of the lockdown were reviewed. We compared the characteristics of patients with RD between the containment period (March17th - April27th,2020) and the period preceding the lockdown (February18th - March16th,2020). We compared the number of RD surgeries performed between the first month of lockdown (March17th - April19th,2020) and the corresponding period of 2019. Number of cases, delay between diagnosis and surgery, visual acuity was measured. RESULTS: During the first month of lockdown, 59 RDs were operated on, compared to 107 in the corresponding period in 2019 (-44,8%). Mean time from first symptoms to surgery was significantly higher during the lockdown 12.7 (11.3) days vs 7.6 (7.8) days (p = 0.031) before. During the lockdown, the mean BCVA was lower albeit the difference did not reach statistical significance (1.16 (0.9) during pre-containment vs 1.5 (0.9) during containment; p = 0.09). Reasonsfor delayed consultation were: fear of Covid-19 (31%; p = 0.0001), absence of referral doctor (31%; p = 0.003) and difficulties in getting to public transport (10.3%;p = 0.859). CONCLUSION: Despite maintaining accessto emergency eye care facilitiesin our hospital, the lockdown affected visual health. Should the lockdown be reinstated, we postulate that a better information about eye care access for non-Covid emergencies may attenuate its effect on visual health.

Primary balloon dacryoplasty for nasolacrimal duct obstruction in adults: a systematic review.

Introduction: Acquired nasolacrimal duct obstruction (NLDO) is a major cause of epiphora. Balloon dacryoplasty (BD) is a minimally invasive procedure effectively used for congenital NLDO which has also been used in adults, instead of dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR), the current gold standard technique. The main objectives were to assess the results of BD with and without silicone tube insertion (STI) in NLDO in adults.Materiel and Method: A systematic review of literature was conducted on PubMed, SCOPUS and Cochrane databases. The articles were scanned to identify all studies that evaluated the outcomes of primary BD for NLDO in adults. The mean success rates were calculated and compared using the multiple comparisons Sidak's T-testResults: Sixty-seven articles were identified but only 13 publications matched the inclusion criteria. For partial NLDO, BD had a mean, success rate of 73.29% (64.86% with STI) with a mean follow-up of 16 months. For complete NLDO, BD had a success rate of 36.67% (52.50% with STI) with a mean follow-up of 15.5 months. Altogether the success rate of BD was significantly higher for partial NLDO compared to complete stenosis (p = 0,002).Conclusion: BD is significantly more successful for partial NLDO, without significant additional benefit from subsequent STI. The main complication would be the high recurrence rate. BD is not effective for complete NLDO with very low success rates. However, BD could be proposed for partial NLDO, as it is a safe procedure, with minimal invasiveness in comparison to DCR. Further prospective and controlled studies are required to confirm these encouraging results.

High-Resolution Imaging of Retinal Vasculitis by Flood Illumination Adaptive Optics Ophthalmoscopy: A Follow-up Study.

Purpose: To monitor perivascular sheathing during the course of retinal vasculitis by flood illumination adaptive optics ophthalmoscopy (AOO). Methods: Perivenous sheathing and venous diameters were quantitatively analyzed by semi-automatic segmentation of AOO images in 12 eyes of treatment-naive patients with retinal vasculitis. Results: The width of venous sheathing ranged from 45 to 225 µm (mean 101.0 µm ± 54.3). In 10 cases, the underlying vein showed focal narrowing (mean ± SD 14% ± 10). Focal narrowing of arteries was also present in one eye. At presentation, width of sheathing and vessel diameters were not correlated with fluorescein leakage. During follow-up, 5 eyes showed an increase in vein diameter or resolution of narrowing and in 10 eyes a thinning of vascular sheathing was observed (p= .003). Conclusions: Perivenous sheathing may be quantitatively analyzed and monitored by AOO. AOO may therefore contribute to monitor vascular sheathing during posterior uveitis.

Effects of age, blood pressure and antihypertensive treatments on retinal arterioles remodeling assessed by adaptive optics.

BACKGROUND: In humans, adaptive optics camera enables precise large-scale noninvasive retinal microcirculation evaluation to assess ageing, blood pressure and antihypertensive treatments respective roles on retinal arterioles anatomy. METHOD: We used adaptive optics camera rtx1 (Imagine-Eyes, Orsay, France) to measure wall thickness, internal diameter and to calculate wall-to-lumen ratio (WLR) and wall cross-sectional area of retinal arterioles. This assessment was repeated within a short period in two subgroups of hypertensive individuals without or with a drug-induced blood pressure drop. RESULTS: In 1000 individuals, mean wall thickness, lumen diameter and WLR were 23.2 ±â€Š3.9, 78.0 ±â€Š10.9 and 0.300 ±â€Š0.054 µm, respectively. Blood pressure and age both independently increased WLR by thickening arterial wall. In opposite, hypertension narrowed lumen in younger as compared to older individuals (73.2 ±â€Š9.0 vs. 81.7 ±â€Š10.2 µm; P < 0.001), whereas age exerted no influence on lumen diameter. Short-term blood pressure drop (-29.3 ±â€Š17.3/-14.4 ±â€Š10.0 mmHg) induced a WLR decrease (-6.0 ±â€Š8.0%) because of lumen dilatation (+4.4 ±â€Š5.9%) without wall thickness changes. By contrast, no modifications were observed in individuals with stable blood pressure. In treated and controlled hypertensives under monotherapy WLR normalization was observed because of combined wall decrease and lumen dilatation independently of antihypertensive pharmacological classes. In multivariate analysis, hypertension drug regimen was not an independent predictor of any retinal anatomical indices. Retinal arteriolar remodeling comprised blood pressure and age-driven wall thickening as well as blood pressure-triggered lumen narrowing in younger individuals. CONCLUSION: Remodeling reversal observed in controlled hypertensives seems to include short-term functional and long-term structural changes.

Relationships between retinal arteriole anatomy and aortic geometry and function and peripheral resistance in hypertensives.

Microvascular remodeling and large artery stiffness are key determinants of cardiovascular hemodynamics and can now be studied with new non-invasive methods. Our objective was to study the relationships between retinal arteriole anatomy and aortic geometry and function and peripheral resistance (total peripheral resistance (TPR)) in hypertensives. In 80 subjects (age 52±13 years; 53% males; including 23 normotensives and 57 hypertensives, among which 29 were uncontrolled hypertensives), we used: (1) the new non-invasive RTX1 adaptive optics (AO) camera (Imagine Eyes, Orsay, France) to measure the wall-to-lumen ratio (WLR) on retinal microvasculature; (2) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging to assess aortic stiffness, geometry and cardiac output; and (3) the validated SphymoCor Xcel device to measure central blood pressure (BP) and carotido-femoral pulse wave velocity (Cf-PWV). TPR was calculated as the central mean BP/cardiac output ratio. WLR and TPR were significantly higher and aortic distensibility was significantly lower in hypertensives. Aortic dilation and arch elongation were found in uncontrolled hypertensives. In the univariate analysis, WLR was positively correlated with central BP (P<0.001), TPR (P<0.001) and Cf-PWV (P<0.05), and it was negatively correlated with aortic distensibility (P=0.003); however, it was not correlated with age or cardiovascular risk factors. The multivariate analysis indicated that WLR was associated with TPR (P=0.002) independent of age, BMI, gender, antihypertensive treatments, aortic diameter and central SBP. As expected, age was the major correlate of ascending aorta distensibility and Cf-PWV. New non-invasive vascular imaging methods are complementary for the detection of the deleterious effects of aging or high BP on large and small arteries. AO examination could represent a useful tool for the study and follow-up of microvasculature anatomical changes.

Venous Nicking Without Arteriovenous Contact: The Role of the Arteriolar Microenvironment in Arteriovenous Nickings.

IMPORTANCE: Arteriovenous nickings (AVNs) in the retina are the cause of retinal vein occlusions and are also surrogates of cerebrovascular aging. The prevalent mechanistic model of AVNs stating that arteries crush veins remains somewhat unchallenged despite the lack of evidence other than fundus photographs. Here, we observed that venous nicking may be observed in the absence of physical contact with an arteriole. OBSERVATIONS: This observational study, conducted from January 2013 to September 2014, included 7 patients showing remodeling of a venous segment close to a retinal arteriole without arteriovenous overlap were imaged by adaptive optics imaging. Affected venous segments showed a variable association of nicking, narrowing, deviation, and opacification. Venous segments were deviated toward the arterioles in 6 of the 7 cases. The degree of venous narrowing ranged from 40% to 77%, while at these sites, the width of the intervascular space ranged from 16 µm to 42 µm. Similar features were identified in typical AVNs. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Arteriovenous nickings do not necessarily involve an arteriovenous compression. Instead, the topology of venous changes suggests a retractile process originating in the intervascular space. These findings have important implications for the understanding of retinal vein occlusions and of cerebrovascular aging.

High-resolution imaging of gunn's dots.

BACKGROUND: In healthy fundi, glistening whitish dots (so-called Gunn's dots) can often be seen, especially in young subjects. They are commonly attributed to the reflectance of Müller cell's footplates. However, despite their potential interest as biomarkers of retinal diseases, Gunn's dots have received little attention in the scientific literature. METHODS: Scanning laser ophthalmoscope reflectance imaging and adaptive optics infrared flood imaging were performed in 18 healthy subjects (age range, 18-58 years) to analyze the localization, density, and shape of Gunn's dots. RESULTS: Gunn's dots were more easily observed in the midperipheral retina along temporal vessels, although in two subjects, they could be detected in the macula. The reflectance of Gunn's dots showed a strong directional variability, which paralleled that of the inner limiting membrane. The mean (±SD) diameter of Gunn's dots was 13.3 µm (±3.5). Their density peaked at ∼120 per square millimeter and decreased with age to become barely detectable after 50 years. CONCLUSION: Gunn's dots are highly anisotropic structures close to the inner limiting membrane. Their density, size, and age-related decline are closer to the characteristics of hyalocytes than those of Müller cells. Further studies are necessary to progress in the determination of their origin and interest as biomarkers of retinal diseases.

Morphometric analysis of small arteries in the human retina using adaptive optics imaging: relationship with blood pressure and focal vascular changes.

OBJECTIVES: The wall-to-lumen ratio (WLR) of retinal arteries is a recognized surrogate of end-organ damage due to aging and/or arterial hypertension. However, parietal morphometry remains difficult to assess in vivo. Recently, it was shown that adaptive optics retinal imaging can resolve parietal structures of retinal arterioles in humans in vivo. Here, using adaptive optics retinal imaging, we investigated the variations of parietal thickness of small retinal arteries with blood pressure and focal vascular damage. METHODS: Adaptive optics imaging of the superotemporal retinal artery was done in 49 treatment-naive individuals [mean age (±SD) 44.9 years (±14); mean systolic pressure 132  mmHg (±22)]. Semi-automated segmentation allowed extracting parietal thickness and lumen diameter. In a distinct cohort, adaptive optics images of arteriovenous nicking (AVN; n = 12) and focal arteriolar narrowing (FAN; n = 10) were also analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. RESULTS: In the cohort of treatment-naive individuals, by multiple regression taking into account age, body mass index, mean, systolic, diastolic and pulse blood pressure, the WLR was found positively correlated to mean blood pressure and age which in combination accounted for 43% of the variability of WLR. In the cohort of patients with focal vascular damage, neither FANs or AVNs showed evidence of parietal growth; instead, at sites of FANs, decreased outer diameter suggestive of vasoconstriction was consistently found, while at sites of AVNs venous narrowing could be seen in the absence of arteriovenous contact. CONCLUSION: High resolution imaging of retinal vessels by adaptive optics allows quantitative microvascular phenotyping, which may contribute to a better understanding and management of hypertensive retinopathy.