Vitreous hemorrhage - Causes, diagnosis, and management.

Vitreous hemorrhage is associated with a myriad of conditions such as proliferative diabetic retinopathy, proliferative retinopathy following vascular occlusion and vasculitis, trauma, retinal breaks, and posterior vitreous detachment without retinal break. Multiple pathological mechanisms are associated with development of vitreous hemorrhage such as disruption of abnormal vessels, normal vessels, and extension of blood from an adjacent source. The diagnosis of vitreous hemorrhage requires a thorough history taking and clinical examination including investigations such as ultra-sonography, which help decide the appropriate time for intervention. The prognosis of vitreous hemorrhage depends on the underlying cause. Treatment options include observation, laser photo-coagulation, cryotherapy, intravitreal injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor, and surgery. Pars plana vitrectomy remains the cornerstone of management. Complications of vitreous hemorrhage include glaucoma (ghost cell glaucoma, hemosiderotic glaucoma), proliferative vitreoretinopathy, and hemosiderosis bulbi.

Effect of adding dexmedetomidine to 0.75% ropivacaine in peribulbar block for vitreoretinal surgery.

Background and Aims: Peribulbar anesthesia is suitable for vitreoretinal (VR) surgery. Dexmedetomidine has been used in peribulbar block (PBB) to improve akinesia and analgesia. We aimed to study the efficacy of adding dexmedetomidine to 0.75% Ropivacaine in PBB for VR surgery. The primary outcome was the requirement of block supplementation and secondary outcome was post-operative analgesic requirement. Material and Methods: 100 adult patients undergoing VR surgery were included in this prospective randomized double-blinded controlled study. The composition of the drug used for PBB in the 3 groups was Group R (8 ml of 0.75% Ropivacaine +0.5 ml normal saline (NS)), Group D25 (8 ml of 0.75% Ropivacaine +25µg Dexmedetomidine) and Group D50 (8 ml of 0.75% Ropivacaine +50 µg Dexmedetomidine). Results: The groups were comparable in terms of patient demographics. The requirement for block supplementation was 16.7% in Group R (5/30), 12.5% in Group D25 (4/32) and 8.8% in group D50 (3/34) (P = 0.64). The mean time to first request for post-operative analgesia was432 ± 362 min in Group R, 572 ± 339 min in Group D25 and 614 ± 394 min for Group D50 (P = 0.26). There was significant difference in the heart rate (P = 0.047), mean arterial pressure (P = 0.012) at 30 min and sedation (RASS) score at 15, 30, 60 (P < 0.001) and 120 (P = 0.019) min between the D50 and group R. Patients undergoing buckling procedures had significantly shorter time to request for analgesia (P = 0.003). Conclusion: Addition of dexmedetomidine does not offer advantage over 0.75% Ropivacaine in PBB for vitrectomy. Its benefit in more painful procedures like scleral buckle needs further validation.

In Vivo Microvascular Pattern of Solitary Juxtapapillary Capillary Hemangioma on OCT Angiography.

Juxtapapillary capillary hemangioma (JCH) is a vascular hamartoma. Fluorescein fundus angiography aids in diagnosis. The vascular morphology of this tumor has not been documented with optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), a new, noninvasive diagnostic modality that provides high-resolution images of vascular pattern based on blood flow in the retina and choroid. Although mainly a clinical diagnosis, OCTA helps in studying the intrinsic vascularity of the tumor and helps in differentiating it from other vascular tumors. The authors report the case of a young male with unilateral solitary JCH and its microvascular pattern, as seen on OCTA. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2017;48:592-595.].

Secondary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment following intravitreal bevacizumab in patients with vitreous hemorrhage or tractional retinal detachment secondary to Eales' disease.

BACKGROUND: To report the occurrence of secondary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) after intravitreal bevacizumab injection in patients with Eales' disease. METHODS: This is a retrospective, non-controlled, comparative case series. We reviewed 14 eyes of 14 patients with Eales' disease who had received pretreatment with intravitreal bevacizumab (1.25 mg/0.05 ml) and subsequently undergone a pars plana vitrectomy for non-resolving vitreous hemorrhage and/or tractional retinal detachment. Clinical records were reviewed. The primary outcome measure was the occurrence of secondary RRD after intravitreal bevacizumab injection. RESULTS: Four patients had developed secondary RRD, with retinal breaks that were localized to the base of tractional retinal bands, within 1 week of receiving intravitreal bevacizumab. On comparative analysis, median age of patients who had developed secondary RRD was 26.5 years, significantly less than the median age of 33.5 years in the rest (P = 0.022). Median post-operative best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in patients who developed secondary RRD was logMAR 0.7 (0.3-0.8), significantly worse than the BCVA of logMAR 0.3 (0.0-0.5) in the rest (P = 0.015). None of the patients who developed secondary RRD had a complete posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) at presentation. CONCLUSION: Intravitreal bevacizumab injections may be associated with the serious complication of secondary RRD in patients of Eales' disease within 7 days of injection.