Optic neuritis: experience from a south Indian demyelinating disease registry.

BACKGROUND: Natural history of optic neuritis (OPN) has not been studied in India. AIM: To study consecutive patients with optic neuritis as the initial manifestation of the neurologic disease and with disease duration of 3 or more years registered in the Mangalore Demyelinating Disease Registry. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 59 patients with a primary diagnosis of optic neuritis (confirmed by either an ophthalmologist or a neurologist or both). All the patients were investigated and followed-up in the clinic. RESULTS: During the follow-up of the 59 patients, 29 (49%) patients developed multiple sclerosis (MS); 3 (5%) patients neuromyelitis optica (NMO); and 13 (22%) patients chronic relapsing inflammatory optic neuritis (CRION), while the remaining 14 (24%) did not either progress or relapse, monophasic OPN. An initial abnormal magnetic resonance imaging predicted conversion to MS in all 7 patients who had imaging at onset. Patients with NMO were left with significant residual visual loss distinguishing NMO from MS. In this large series of patients with CRION, nearly 50% of patients had deterioration in vision while steroids were being tapered. Long-term immunosuppression was essential for maintaining good visual outcome in both NMO and CRION. CONCLUSIONS: Optic neuritis in India appears similar to that in the West with nearly 50% developing MS in the long term.

Correlation of retinal nerve fiber layer thickness with perimetric staging in primary open-angle glaucoma - A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Glaucoma is a progressive optic neuropathy, characterized by structural optic nerve damage with corresponding field defects. Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is the most common. Although perimetry is the gold standard, retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) has proved reliable in the detection of pre-perimetric glaucoma. There is preferential involvement of various sectors of the peripapillary RNFL in the different stages of POAG. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to assess RNFL thickness and determine preferential involvement of different sectors of peripapillary RNFL in the various stages of POAG using SD-OCT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-nine patients with POAG underwent complete ophthalmic examination including visual field testing and RNFL thickness measurement. Perimetric findings were used to categorize them into mild, moderate, and severe stages of glaucoma. The RNFL thickness values were analyzed and compared with perimetric results. RESULTS: The average RNFL loss in mild, moderate, and severe POAG was 25.44%, 29.67%, and 44.15%, respectively. A statistically significant correlation (P < 0.05) between RNFL loss and severity of glaucoma was found in all except the superior and temporal sectors. A statistically significant (P < 0.05) negative correlation was noted between visual field index and RNFL loss in all sectors except the nasal-superior in moderate POAG and all sectors in severe POAG. Mean deviation and RNFL loss showed a significant positive correlation in temporal-inferior (TI) sector in mild POAG and all sectors in the severe group. CONCLUSION: RNFL thickness decreases with increase in glaucoma severity and is a reliable parameter to differentiate mild from severe POAG. The TI followed by nasal-inferior RNFL sector is the most sensitive to glaucomatous damage in all three stages.

Retropupillary iris-claw intraocular lens implantation in aphakic patients.

Purpose: To evaluate the outcomes of implantation of an iris-claw intraocular lens (IC-IOL) in retropupillary position in aphakic patients. Methods: We conducted a prospective interventional study, including 36 aphakic eyes with inadequate capsular support. The postoperative examination included best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement, central corneal thickness (CCT), and anterior segment examination with emphasis on the anterior chamber reaction and shape of pupil. Follow-up was done for 3 months. Results: Thirty-six eyes of 34 patients, including 22 right eyes and 14 left eyes were included. Indications for surgery were complicated cataract surgery in 38.9% (n = 14), aphakia in 27.8% (n = 10), pseudophakic bullous keratopathy in 16.7% (n = 6), dislocated posterior chamber IOL (PCIOL) in 11.1% (n = 4), IC drop in 2.8% (n = 1), and subluxated PCIOL in 2.8% (n = 1). Postoperatively, the visual acuity improved by at least two lines in 32 (88.9%) and worsened in four (11.1%) eyes at the end of three months. Mean postoperative IOP at the end of the third month was 12.42 mmHg (standard deviation [SD] 2.57; range 11.55-13.29 mmHg). The mean postoperative CCT at the end of the third month was 542.42 microns (SD 13.77; range 537.76-547.07 microns). Sixteen eyes (44.4%) had horizontally oval pupil, eleven eyes (30.6%) had round pupil, and nine eyes (25%) had irregular pupil. Twenty-three eyes (63.9%) presented with significant anterior chamber reaction and seven eyes (19.4%) had corneal stromal edema on postoperative day 1. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that retropupillary IC-IOL implantation in eyes without adequate capsular support is an effective and safe procedure with a good visual outcome and fewer complications.

Mycotic keratitis due to Cylindrocarpon lichenicola: Successful salvage of the eye.

We hereby report a successfully salvaged eye due to mycotic keratitis by Cylindrocarpon lichenicola in a 60-year-old female from Kasaragod (Kerala). The patient came with a history of pain, photophobia and decreased vision of the right eye. The microbiological investigations of the corneal scraping revealed C. lichenicola. C. lichenicola is a soil saprophyte. Since the ulcer worsened paracentesis followed by therapeutic keratoplasty and adjunct therapy with natamycin drops, voriconazole drops and oral ketoconazole was given. We stress that evidence-based timely medical and surgical intervention helped in the restoration of the vision in an infected eye.