The effect of postoperative oral antibiotic therapy on the incidence of postoperative endophthalmitis after phacoemulsification surgery in dogs: 368 eyes (1997-2010).

PURPOSE: To assess the effectiveness of postoperative administration of oral antibiotics at reducing the incidence of endophthalmitis following phacoemulsification cataract extraction in dogs. METHODS: Medical records of the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine were reviewed for cases having undergone phacoemulsification and divided according to whether or not they had received oral antibiotics postoperatively. Records were then evaluated for a diagnosis of endophthalmitis and incidence rates between the group receiving postoperative oral antibiotics and the group not receiving postoperative oral antibiotics were compared. RESULTS: A total of 215 patients (368 eyes) were identified by the search. One-hundred twelve patients (197 eyes) were treated with oral antibiotics postoperatively. One-hundred and three patients (171 eyes) were not treated with oral antibiotics postoperatively. Three cases of endophthalmitis were identified, with one in the antibiotic-treated group and two in the non-antibiotic treated group (P > 0.05, Fisher's exact test). CONCLUSIONS: The overall incidence of endophthalmitis at the University of Tennessee from 1997-2010 was 0.82%. The rate of post-phacoemulsification endophthalmitis was unaffected by the postoperative administration of oral antibiotics.

Transient photoreceptor deconstruction by CNTF enhances rAAV-mediated cone functional rescue in late stage CNGB3-achromatopsia.

Achromatopsia is a genetic disorder of cones, and one of the most common forms is a channelopathy caused by mutations in the ß-subunit, CNGB3, of the cone cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) channel. Recombinant adeno-associated virus of serotype 5 (rAAV5)-mediated gene transfer of human CNGB3 cDNA to mutant dog cones results in functional and structural rescue in dogs <0.5 years of age, but treatment is minimally effective in dogs >1 year. We now test a new therapeutic concept by combining gene therapy with the administration of ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF). Intravitreal CNTF causes transient dedifferentiation of photoreceptors, a process called deconstruction, whereby visual cells become immature with short outer segments, and decreased retinal function and gene expression that subsequently return to normal. Cone function was successfully rescued in all mutant dogs treated between 14 and 42 months of age with this strategy. CNTF-mediated deconstruction and regeneration of the photoreceptor outer segments prepares the mutant cones optimally for gene augmentation therapy.