To investigate the effect of prior intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections on surgical and postoperative complication rates associated with cataract surgery in a ...nationally representative longitudinal sample of elderly persons.
Retrospective, longitudinal cohort analysis.
A total of 203 643 Medicare beneficiaries who underwent cataract surgery from January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2013.
By using the 5% sample of Medicare claims data, the study assessed risks of 3 adverse outcomes after receipt of cataract surgery for beneficiaries with a history of intravitreal injections. Risks of these outcomes in beneficiaries with a history of intravitreal injections relative to those without were calculated using the Cox proportional hazard model.
The primary outcome was the risk of subsequent removal of retained lens fragments (RLFs) within 28 days after cataract surgery. Secondary outcomes were a new diagnosis of acute (<40 days) or delayed-onset (40+ days) endophthalmitis and risk of a new primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) diagnosis within 365 days after cataract surgery.
Prior intravitreal anti-VEGF injections were associated with a significantly increased risk of subsequent RLF removal within 28 days after cataract surgery (hazard ratio HR, 2.26; 95% confidence interval CI, 1.19-4.30). Prior injections were also associated with increased risk of both acute (HR, 2.29; 95% CI, 1.001-5.22) and delayed-onset endophthalmitis (HR, 3.65; 95% CI, 1.65-8.05). Prior injections were not a significant indicator of increased risk of a new POAG diagnosis.
A history of intravitreal injections may be a risk factor for cataract surgery-related intraoperative complications and endophthalmitis. Given the frequency of intravitreal injections and cataract surgery, increased preoperative assessment, additional intraoperative caution, and postoperative vigilance are recommended in patients with a history of intravitreal injections undergoing cataract extraction.
Purpose:
To analyze a case series of retinal vasculitis reported to the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) following Food and Drug Administration approval of brolucizumab for treatment of ...neovascular age-related macular degeneration.
Methods:
The ASRS Research and Safety in Therapeutics Committee analyzed clinical and imaging characteristics from submitted reports of retinal vasculitis after brolucizumab.
Results:
Retinal vasculitis was reported in 26 eyes of 25 patients (22 88% female) after treatment with brolucizumab. Imaging studies were available for 24 of 26 eyes. Most cases (92%) were associated with intraocular inflammation, which presented at a mean of 25 days (range, 3-63 days) after the most recent brolucizumab injection. Mean visual acuity (VA) was 20/52 (range, 20/25-4/200) before the adverse event, 20/151 (range, 20/25-hand motion) at presentation of the adverse event, and 20/243 (range, 20/30-light perception) at last follow-up. Twelve eyes (46%) had a greater than 3-line decrease in VA at final follow-up, and 12 eyes (46%) had a final VA of 20/200 or worse. Analysis of retinal imaging identified vasculopathy that involved retinal arteries (91%), retinal veins (79%), and choroidal vessels (48%). Occlusive disease was apparent on imaging in 83% of eyes. Treatment approaches were varied.
Conclusions:
Retinal vasculitis has been identified in a series of eyes following brolucizumab. Although a few eyes in this series were asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic, some eyes had significant vision loss. A careful examination for signs of active inflammation prior to brolucizumab injection is recommended. Once vasculopathy is suspected, angiographic imaging may help define the spectrum of involvement. Optimal treatment strategies remain unknown.
To assess the effect of availability of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy on mortality and hospitalizations for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and stroke over a 5-year ...follow-up period in United States Medicare beneficiaries newly diagnosed with exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in 2006 compared with control groups consisting of beneficiaries (1) newly diagnosed with exudative AMD at a time when anti-VEGF therapy was not possible and (2) newly diagnosed with nonexudative AMD.
Retrospective cohort study.
Beneficiaries newly diagnosed with exudative and nonexudative AMD in 2000 and 2006 selected from a random longitudinal sample of Medicare 5% claims and enrollment files.
Beneficiaries with a first diagnosis of exudative AMD in 2006 were the treatment group; beneficiaries newly diagnosed with exudative AMD in 2000 or nonexudative AMD in 2000 or 2006 were control groups. To deal with potential selection bias, we designed an intent-to-treat study, which controlled for nonadherence to prescribed regimens. The treatment group consisted of patients with clinically appropriate characteristics to receive anti-VEGF injections given that the therapy is available, bypassing the need to monitor whether treatment was actually received. Control groups consisted of patients with clinically appropriate characteristics but first diagnosed at a time when the therapy was unavailable (2000) and similar patients but for whom the therapy was not clinically indicated (2000, 2006). We used a Cox proportional hazard model.
All-cause mortality and hospitalization for AMI and stroke during follow-up.
No statistically significant changes in probabilities of death and hospitalizations for AMI and stroke within a 5-year follow-up period were identified in exudative AMD beneficiaries newly diagnosed in 2006, the beginning of widespread anti-VEGF use, compared with 2000. As an alternative to our main analysis, which excluded beneficiaries from nonexudative AMD group who received anti-VEGF therapies during follow-up, we performed a sensitivity analysis with this group of individuals reincluded (11% of beneficiaries newly diagnosed with nonexudative AMD in 2006). Results were similar.
Introduction of anti-VEGF agents in 2006 for treating exudative AMD has not posed a threat of increased risk of AMI, stroke, or all-cause mortality.
Iron is essential for many metabolic processes but can also cause damage. As a potent generator of hydroxyl radical, the most reactive of the free radicals, iron can cause considerable oxidative ...stress. Since iron is absorbed through diet but not excreted except through menstruation, total body iron levels buildup with age. Macular iron levels increase with age, in both men and women. This iron has the potential to contribute to retinal degeneration.
Here we present an overview of the evidence suggesting that iron may contribute to retinal degenerations. Intraocular iron foreign bodies cause retinal degeneration. Retinal iron buildup resulting from hereditary iron homeostasis disorders aceruloplasminemia, Friedreich's ataxia, and panthothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration cause retinal degeneration. Mice with targeted mutation of the iron exporter ceruloplasmin have age-dependent retinal iron overload and a resulting retinal degeneration with features of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Post mortem retinas from patients with AMD have more iron and the iron carrier transferrin than age-matched controls.
Over the past 10 years much has been learned about the intricate network of proteins involved in iron handling. Many of these, including transferrin, transferrin receptor, divalent metal transporter-1, ferritin, ferroportin, ceruloplasmin, hephaestin, iron-regulatory protein, and histocompatibility leukocyte antigen class I-like protein involved in iron homeostasis (HFE) have been found in the retina. Some of these proteins have been found in the cornea and lens as well. Levels of the iron carrier transferrin are high in the aqueous and vitreous humors. The functions of these proteins in other tissues, combined with studies on cultured ocular tissues, genetically engineered mice, and eye exams on patients with hereditary iron diseases provide clues regarding their ocular functions.
Iron may play a role in a broad range of ocular diseases, including glaucoma, cataract, AMD, and conditions causing intraocular hemorrhage. While iron deficiency must be prevented, the therapeutic potential of limiting iron-induced ocular oxidative damage is high. Systemic, local, or topical iron chelation with an expanding repertoire of drugs has clinical potential.
IMPORTANCE: Aflibercept-related sterile inflammation, an event that is poorly understood, has been the subject of ongoing postmarketing reports. OBJECTIVE: To analyze cases of aflibercept-related ...sterile inflammation reported to the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) Therapeutic Surveillance Committee (TSC), an independent task force formed to monitor drug- and device-related safety events. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A retrospective review of 56 cases in 55 patients was performed of all cases of sterile inflammation after aflibercept injection that were voluntarily reported by 12 practices throughout the United States to the ASRS TSC from December 1, 2011, through February 12, 2014. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Cases of aflibercept-related sterile inflammation were analyzed for baseline and demographic information, presenting symptoms and findings, visual acuity changes, injection technique, and management details. RESULTS: Among 56 reported cases of sterile inflammation, mean time to onset was 3.5 days (median, 2 days; range, 0-30 days). Most cases consisted of initial loss of vision and intraocular inflammation without prominent redness, severe pain, or hypopyon. Thirty-seven cases (66%) were treated with topical corticosteroids and/or observation alone. Mean time to resolution was 28.6 days (median, 28 days; range, 4-84 days). Although final vision was overall unchanged, some patients developed permanent vision loss, which may have resulted from inflammation and/or progression of the underlying disease. Age older than 80 years was associated with worse visual outcomes. No difference in visual outcome was detected in patients with sterile inflammation undergoing topical therapy alone vs invasive procedures (vitreous biopsy and/or intravitreal antibiotic administration and/or vitrectomy). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: With the largest number of reported cases of aflibercept-related sterile inflammation to our knowledge, this analysis suggests typical findings and an often favorable prognosis of this event. Analysis of real-world, postmarketing data has limitations, and these findings should be considered as hypothesis-generating assessments rather than a definitive reflection of this event or its typical course. Distinguishing sterile inflammation and infectious endophthalmitis at the time of presentation may often be difficult, and cautious evaluation and management of these patients are warranted. The ASRS TSC encourages active postmarketing surveillance by all physicians.
Mechanisms of brain and retinal iron homeostasis have become subjects of increased interest after the discovery of elevated iron levels in brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease and retinas of ...patients with age-related macular degeneration. To determine whether the ferroxidase ceruloplasmin (Cp) and its homolog hephaestin (Heph) are important for retinal iron homeostasis, we studied retinas from mice deficient in Cp and/or Heph. In normal mice, Cp and Heph localize to Müller glia and retinal pigment epithelium, a blood-brain barrier. Mice deficient in both Cp and Heph, but not each individually, had a striking, age-dependent increase in retinal pigment epithelium and retinal iron. The iron storage protein ferritin was also increased in Cp-/-Heph-/Y retinas. After retinal iron levels had increased, Cp-/-Heph-/Y mice had age-dependent retinal pigment epithelium hypertrophy, hyperplasia and death, photoreceptor degeneration, and subretinal neovascularization, providing a model of some features of the human retinal diseases aceruloplasminemia and age-related macular degeneration. This pathology indicates that Cp and Heph are critical for CNS iron homeostasis and that loss of Cp and Heph in the mouse leads to age-dependent retinal neurodegeneration, providing a model that can be used to test the therapeutic efficacy of iron chelators and antiangiogenic agents.
Intra-operative optical coherence tomography (OCT) requires a display technology which allows surgeons to visualize OCT data without disrupting surgery. Previous research and commercial intrasurgical ...OCT systems have integrated heads-up display (HUD) systems into surgical microscopes to provide monoscopic viewing of OCT data through one microscope ocular. To take full advantage of our previously reported real-time volumetric microscope-integrated OCT (4D MIOCT) system, we describe a stereoscopic HUD which projects a stereo pair of OCT volume renderings into both oculars simultaneously. The stereoscopic HUD uses a novel optical design employing spatial multiplexing to project dual OCT volume renderings utilizing a single micro-display. The optical performance of the surgical microscope with the HUD was quantitatively characterized and the addition of the HUD was found not to substantially effect the resolution, field of view, or pincushion distortion of the operating microscope. In a pilot depth perception subject study, five ophthalmic surgeons completed a pre-set dexterity task with 50.0% (SD = 37.3%) higher success rate and in 35.0% (SD = 24.8%) less time on average with stereoscopic OCT vision compared to monoscopic OCT vision. Preliminary experience using the HUD in 40 vitreo-retinal human surgeries by five ophthalmic surgeons is reported, in which all surgeons reported that the HUD did not alter their normal view of surgery and that live surgical maneuvers were readily visible in displayed stereoscopic OCT volumes.
This book has two essential aims. First, to introduce some of the key assumptions behind relational psychoanalysis to an international audience and to outline the points where this approach counters, ...complements, or extends existing object relations (Kleinian and Independent) traditions. Second, to consider some of the implications of the relational turn for the application of psychoanalytic concepts and methods beyond the consulting room. The emergence of what has become known as the relational turn in psychoanalysis has interesting implications not just for clinical practice, but for other psychoanalytically informed practices, such as group relations, the human service professions, and social research. Relational forms of psychoanalysis have emerged primarily in the USA, and as a result their core concepts and methods are less well-known in other countries, including the UK. Moreover, even within the USA, few attempts have so far been made to consider the wider implications of this development for social and political theory; intervention in groups and organizations, and the practice of social research. As with all new developments, there is a tendency to deal with them in one of two ways: either to insist that there is nothing new about them and that existing practices already include their implied critique, or to sharpen and exaggerate the difference, thereby construing the new arrival as something that is a counter, rather than an extension and complement, to what already exists.
Scleral buckling with chandelier illumination Seider, Michael; Nomides, Riikka; Hahn, Paul ...
Journal of ophthalmic & vision research,
07/2016, Letnik:
11, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Scleral buckling is a highly successful technique for the repair of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment that requires intra-operative examination of the retina and treatment of retinal breaks via ...indirect ophthalmoscopy. Data suggest that scleral buckling likely results in improved outcomes for many patients but is declining in popularity, perhaps because of significant advances in vitrectomy instrumentation and visualization systems. Emerging data suggest that chandelier-assisted scleral buckling is safe and has many potential advantages over traditional buckling techniques. By combining traditional scleral buckling with contemporary vitreoretinal visualization techniques, chandelier-assistance may increase the popularity of scleral buckling to treat primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment for surgeons of the next generation, maintaining buckling as an option for appropriate patients in the future.