Retinal microvascular remodeling associates with adverse events in continuous-flow left ventricular assist device-supported patients.

BACKGROUND: Continuous-flow left ventricular assist device (cfLVAD) use is effective in supporting patients with end-stage heart failure (ESHF). Reduced flow pulsatility within the systemic circulation in cfLVAD-supported patients may lead to alterations within the microcirculation. Temporal changes in microvasculature in relation to adverse events in cfLVAD-supported patients have not been studied. We aimed to profile changes within retinal microvasculature and its association with adverse events. METHODS: Retinal photography was performed using Topcon TRC-NW8 nonmydriatic fundus camera in cfLVAD-supported patients and ESHF control patients. Specific retinal measurements were evaluated using a validated semiautomated program. Demographic and adverse event data were documented. RESULTS: Forty-eight patients were studied (n = 29 cfLVAD, n = 19 ESHF). There were significant trends in retinal arteriolar caliber (B = -0.53 µm, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.96 to -0.10, p = 0.016) and retinal fractal dimension parameters (B = 0.014, 95% CI: 0.001-0.002, p = 0.016) in linear mixed model regressions. Among cfLVAD patients, there was a significant association between the incidence of gastrointestinal bleeding and stepwise increases in retinal arteriolar-venular caliber ratio (hazard ratio: 3.03, 95% CI: 2.06-4.45, p = 0.005), a measure of arteriolar narrowing. CONCLUSIONS: We have observed for the first time that alterations in retinal microvasculature in cfLVAD-supported patients may be associated with gastrointestinal bleeding. While understanding these temporal changes may predict future adverse events in cfLVAD-supported patients, further multicenter studies are required to confirm the associations observed.

A Deep Learning Approach for Accurate Discrimination Between Optic Disc Drusen and Papilledema on Fundus Photographs.

BACKGROUND: Optic disc drusen (ODD) represent an important differential diagnosis of papilledema caused by intracranial hypertension, but their distinction may be difficult in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to train, validate, and test a dedicated deep learning system (DLS) for binary classification of ODD vs papilledema (including various subgroups within each category), on conventional mydriatic digital ocular fundus photographs collected in a large international multiethnic population. METHODS: This retrospective study included 4,508 color fundus images in 2,180 patients from 30 neuro-ophthalmology centers (19 countries) participating in the Brain and Optic Nerve Study with Artificial Intelligence (BONSAI) Group. For training and internal validation, we used 857 ODD images and 3,230 papilledema images, in 1,959 patients. External testing was performed on an independent data set (221 patients), including 207 images with ODD (96 visible and 111 buried), provided by 3 centers of the Optic Disc Drusen Studies Consortium, and 214 images of papilledema (92 mild-to-moderate and 122 severe) from a previously validated study. RESULTS: The DLS could accurately distinguish between all ODD and papilledema (all severities included): area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) 0.97 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.96-0.98), accuracy 90.5% (95% CI, 88.0%-92.9%), sensitivity 86.0% (95% CI, 82.1%-90.1%), and specificity 94.9% (95% CI, 92.3%-97.6%). The performance of the DLS remained high for discrimination of buried ODD from mild-to-moderate papilledema: AUC 0.93 (95% CI, 0.90-0.96), accuracy 84.2% (95% CI, 80.2%-88.6%), sensitivity 78.4% (95% CI, 72.2%-84.7%), and specificity 91.3% (95% CI, 87.0%-96.4%). CONCLUSIONS: A dedicated DLS can accurately distinguish between ODD and papilledema caused by intracranial hypertension, even when considering buried ODD vs mild-to-moderate papilledema.

A case for the use of chemotherapy in hereditary mitochondrial optic neuropathies: Successful administration of cisplatin/etoposide in a male patient with testicular seminoma and Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy.

We report on the successful use of chemotherapy for treatment of stage 2B testicular seminoma in a carrier of the Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy 11778 mitochondrial mutation. Neurotoxic chemotherapy may not prompt disease conversion.

SD-OCT Imaging of Macular Changes in Fabry Disease: A Case Report.

Fabry disease (FD) is a rare, X-linked lysosomal storage disorder that can result in fatal end-stage renal disease, heart failure, and cerebro-occlusive events. Vague clinical symptoms and rarity often mean diagnosis and potential treatment is delayed. Ophthalmic findings in FD patients can be helpful in establishing an early diagnosis and timely treatment. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) imaging in FD patients shows hyper-reflective foci (HRF) in characteristic patterns within the inner retinal layers. We found that the HRF was localised in linear distributions at the deep and superficial borders of the retinal inner nuclear layer, likely reflecting anatomic vascular plexuses and FD-related sphingolipid deposition within the vessel walls. These results highlight the potential use of SD-OCT in FD and how it may aid diagnosis in undifferentiated patients, prognostication, and disease monitoring.

How do I recognise and manage visual snow syndrome?

Visual snow syndrome (VSS) is becoming increasingly recognised by clinicians and self-diagnosed by our patients thanks to online search tools. Previously this phenomenon was overlooked or dismissed leading to increased patient anxiety. Now, however, we need to be careful with that we are not making what would seem to be an easy diagnosis of VSS when actually we are missing any underlying or mimic conditions.

Headache Attributed to Refractive Error: Improvement after Topography-Guided Photorefractive Keratectomy with Corneal Cross-Linking in Patients with Keratoconus.

PURPOSE: To investigate if topography-guided photorefractive keratectomy (TGPRK) alleviates headache, particularly headache attributed to refractive errors (HARE) in keratoconus. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with keratoconus undergoing TGPRK for refractive correction were included. Best spectacle corrected visual acuity (BSCVA) using the logMAR scale and refractive error were measured. Patients answered a questionnaire exploring headaches, characteristics, treatment, and the Headache Impact Test (HIT-6) before and 6 months after the surgery. RESULTS: 40 patients were included. Preoperatively, 24 patients (60%) met criteria for headaches: five for migraine, 14 for HARE, and five for tension-type headache (TTH). Patients with headaches preoperatively were more likely to require bilateral TGPRK, and the mean sphere and cylindrical power were higher. Postoperatively, 15 out of the 24 patients of the headache group experienced complete resolution of headaches, and only nine patients met diagnostic criteria for headaches: two for migraine, six for HARE, and one for TTH. The number of headaches reduced from 4.4 ± 2.4 to 0.5 ± 0.7 days/week (p < 0.001). Headache duration decreased from 108.5 ± 100.7 min to 34.4 ± 63.5 min (p = 0.002). Postoperatively, the consumption of analgesia decreased. The HIT-6 revealed an improvement in the quality-of-life post-procedure (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Surgical correction of irregular astigmatism in patients with keratoconus can alleviate or resolve headaches in a large proportion of patients, resulting in an improvement in their quality of life. Physicians should consider keratoconus in patients fitting criteria for HARE not alleviated by spectacle correction and suboptimal vision in glasses.

Ophthalmic and Systemic Factors of Acute Nonarteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy in the Quark207 Treatment Trial.

PURPOSE: We describe the baseline ophthalmic and cardiovascular risk factors across countries, race, and sex for the Quark207 treatment trial for acute nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). DESIGN: Prospective, randomized controlled clinical trial. PARTICIPANTS: Adults 50 to 80 years of age with acute NAION recruited from 80 sites across 8 countries. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Ophthalmic features of NAION and cardiovascular risk factors. METHODS: We evaluated demographics and clinical and ophthalmologic data, including best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and average visual field total deviation (TD), in affected eyes and cup-to-disc ratio in fellow eyes at enrollment. We report the prevalence (mean and standard devition, and median and interquartile range [IQR]) of ophthalmic features and cardiovascular risk factors, stratified by country, race, and sex. We corrected for multiple comparisons using Dunn's test with Bonferroni correction for continuous variables and chi-square testing with Holm-Bonferroni correction for categorical variables. RESULTS: The study enrolled 500 men and 229 women with a median age of 60 and 61 years (P = 0.027), respectively. Participants were predominantly White (n = 570) and Asian (n = 149). The study eye BCVA was 71 characters (IQR, 53-84 characters; approximately 0.4 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution), and the TD was -16.5 dB (IQR, -22.2 to -12.6 dB) for stimulus III and -15.7 dB (IQR, -20.8 to -10.9 dB) for stimulus V. The vertical and horizontal cup-to-disc ratio was 0.1 (IQR, 0.1-0.3) for unaffected fellow eyes. The prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors varied among countries. The most notable differences were in the baseline comorbidities and ophthalmologic features, which differed between Asian and White races. Men and women differed with respect to a few clinically meaningful features. CONCLUSIONS: The cardiovascular risk factors in the NAION cohort varied among the 7 countries, race, and sex, but were not typically more prevalent than in the general population. Ophthalmic features, typical of NAION, generally were consistent across countries, race, and sex, except for worse BCVA and TD in China. Men have a frequency of NAION twice that of women. Having a small cup-to-disc ratio in the fellow eye was the most prevalent risk factor across all demographics. This study suggests that factors, not yet identified, may contribute to the development of NAION. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE(S): Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article.

Burn related globe and adnexal trauma at trauma centres.

INTRODUCTION: Prompt management of burn-related globe trauma can prevent long term complications. Delays in diagnosis may occur when globe trauma is associated with life-threatening injuries. We aimed to improve the understanding of the epidemiology, acute assessment and management of burns-related globe and adnexal trauma admitted to two trauma centres in Sydney, Australia. METHOD: Admitted patients with burns-related globe and/or adnexal trauma were retrospectively reviewed at Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPAH) between January 2015 and December 2019. The International Classification of Disease, Tenth Revision codes was used to search and identify patients. Medical records were reviewed to extract data on demographics, injuries, ocular examination and ophthalmology involvement. RESULTS: Over the 5-years, 101 patients with globe and/or adnexal burns-related trauma were admitted to RNSH or RPAH. Median age was 37years. Most patients were male (76%) and were injured while at home or work (74%). Patients with chemical exposure were more likely to have globe trauma (100% vs 72%, p < 0.001) and severe globe trauma (54% vs 32%, p = 0.028). On initial review by emergency staff, 14 patients were not referred to ophthalmology, of these there were 2 patients where the diagnosis was delayed. CONCLUSION: Globe trauma is common in patients with chemical exposure. Thorough ocular assessment within the acute setting is vital to diagnose globe trauma. We investigated hospitals with specialised burn staff, further research is required to understand the management of globe trauma in hospitals without such resources. SYNOPSIS: Chemicals in household-products can cause severe globe trauma. Globe trauma can occur alongside large burns leading to delay in its diagnosis and management. Ophthalmology can assist in the early diagnosis and management of globe trauma.

Opinion article: Neurosurgical treatment for neuro-ophthalmologic conditions.

A significant role of the neuro-ophthalmologist is to counsel patients on appropriate management and anticipated visual prognosis for conditions affecting the afferent and efferent visual systems, including those requiring neurosurgical treatment. However, the literature regarding anticipated neuro- ophthalmologic prognosis after neurosurgical intervention for cerebral aneurysms, sellar lesions, optic pathway tumors, and elevated intracranial pressure is limited with many key questions unanswered. For example, if a cerebral aneurysm is equally amenable to clipping or endovascular coiling, is there a preferred approach in terms of visual prognosis based on aneurysm location? Is dural venous sinus stenting (VSS) for idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) superior, equivalent or inferior to shunting in terms of visual recovery and safety profile? Landmark studies on pituitary tumors using pre-operative optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging of the optic nerve head to predict visual recovery after surgical decompression of the optic chiasm have changed neuro-ophthalmologic practice and enabled patients to be better informed regarding expected visual outcomes. 1,2 In order to optimize an interdisciplinary team approach to patient care, further studies of visual outcomes for neuro- ophthalmologic conditions requiring neurosurgical intervention are needed.