[Surgical therapy and pathogen detection in endogenous endophthalmitis : Analysis of data from five German eye hospitals]. / Operative Therapie und Keimnachweis bei endogener Endophthalmitis : Datenauswertung aus 5 Augenkliniken.

BACKGROUND: Endogenous endophthalmitis results from hematogenous spread of bacterial or fungal infection in severely diseased patients. Specific systemic and intraocular therapy is required. The basis for this treatment is causal pathogen detection in blood culture or vitreous sample. However, functional results are limited. OBJECTIVE: The current article provides practical hints for surgical therapy and pathogen detection in patients with endogenous endophthalmitis. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of anonymous data of 68 male and female patients from 2018-2023 from five ophthalmology clinics in Germany was performed. RESULTS: Mean age of affected patients was 71.4 years (31-96 years). Surgical therapy included pars plana vitrectomy (ppV) and intravitreal injection (IVOM). In 44 of 68 patients (65%), 1-3 surgeries were performed, 4-6 surgeries were required in 14/68 (21%) of patients, and 10 or more surgeries were required in 4/68 patients (6%). Pathogen detection was possible in 34% of vitreous specimens and in 11% of anterior chamber samples. Mean initial visual acuity was logMAR 1.5. After treatment and a mean follow-up of 2.5 months, mean visual acuity was logMAR 1.3. Preanalytical methods for specimen collection like the Freiburg endophthalmitis set to optimize pathogen detection are presented. CONCLUSION: Severe inflammatory intraocular reactions in endogenous endophthalmitis necessitate a combination of ppV and repeated IVOM. In addition to providing a vitreous sample, ppV also serves to remove inflammatory fibrin membranes. Early pars plana vitrectomy with specific antibiotic or antifungal therapy should be sought in addition to the focus search and systemic therapy.

Treated Cases of Retinopathy of Prematurity in Germany: 10-Year Data from the Retina.net Retinopathy of Prematurity Registry.

PURPOSE: To analyze changes in demographic parameters and retreatment patterns over a 10-year period in a clinical routine setting of infants with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) requiring treatment documented in the German Retina.net ROP registry. DESIGN: Multicenter, noninterventional, observational registry study recruiting patients treated for ROP. SUBJECTS: A total of 692 eyes of 353 infants treated for ROP were documented in the Retina.net ROP registry over a 10-year period between 2011 and 2020. These cases cover about 15% of all infants treated for ROP in Germany. METHODS: The Retina.net ROP registry was established in 2012 to jointly collect information on infants treated for ROP. The database collects information on demographic parameters (gestational age [GA], birth weight, neonatal comorbidities) as well as treatment parameters (type of treatment, weight and age at treatment, and stage of ROP). A total of 19 centers contributed to the analysis. This is the 10-year analysis of data from 2011 to 2020, in which we focus on changes over time regarding the respective parameters. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Changes over time in demographic parameters and treatment patterns for ROP in Germany. RESULTS: The overall incidence of treatment requiring ROP was 3.5% of all infants screened for ROP at participating centers. Gestational age, weight at birth, and weight at treatment remained stable over the 10-year period, whereas postmenstrual and postnatal age at treatment increased moderately but statistically significantly over the years. The most prevalent ROP severity stage at treatment was stage 3+ in zone II (76.6% of all treated eyes). Treatment patterns changed considerably from predominantly laser treatments in 2011 (75% of all treated eyes) to predominantly ranibizumab treatments in 2020 (60.9% of all treated eyes). The overall retreatment rate was 15.6%. Retreatment rates differed between initial treatment modalities (14.1% after laser coagulation, 12% after bevacizumab and 24.5% after ranibizumab). Treatment-associated systemic or ophthalmic complications were rare. CONCLUSIONS: This data analysis represents one of the largest documented cohorts of infants treated for ROP. The data on demographic parameters and treatment patterns provide useful information for further improvement of ROP management. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE(S): Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article.

[Pandemic-related sales ban of fireworks in Germany leads to a significant reduction of firework-related eye injuries]. / Pandemiebedingtes Verkaufsverbot von Feuerwerkskörpern in Deutschland führt zu einer deutlichen Abnahme der Augenverletzungen.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The continuous recording of eye injuries caused by fireworks around New Year's Eve over 6 years allows us to investigate injury numbers, injury patterns, and accident histories in a year to year comparison. In order to relieve the burden on hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic, a ban on the sale of firework articles was implemented in Germany for 2020/2021 and 2021/2022. We investigate the impact of these measures on the number of fireworks-related eye injuries and analyze whether this led to an increase in serious injuries and an association with increased use of homemade pyrotechnics or pyrotechnics potentially not approved in Germany. METHODS: We used our online questionnaire to collect anonymized data on patients, accident history, and, since 2017/2018 information on the acquisition of firework articles. RESULTS: Our analysis included data from 2151 affected individuals. While data of about 500 injured were entered per year before the pandemic, this number decreased to 79 in 2020/2021 and 193 in 2021/2022. The proportion of severe eye injuries requiring inpatient care ranged from 21% to 26% in the years before the pandemic but ranged from 27% to 34% in the pandemic years. At the same time, under the sales ban the proportion of fireworks that were homemade or unofficially purchased increased from 3% to nearly 10%. In terms of absolute numbers, however, there were 67 accidents involving unofficially purchased pyrotechnics compared with 1675 incidents involving officially purchased or unidentified fireworks, which can be explained by the high proportion (about 50%) of injured bystanders. CONCLUSION: The absolute number of patients with eye injuries caused by pyrotechnics decreased under the pandemic conditions from about 500 to 79 or 193. The use of fireworks designated as unofficially purchased was proportionally low even under the sales ban, and plays a minor role compared to injuries with officially purchased fireworks articles.

[Orbital Trauma]. / Trauma der Orbita.

Orbital trauma is a common medical emergency with potentially sight-threatening complications. Due to the confined orbital conditions, any direct injury or space-consuming lesion may cause serious tissue damage. Possible complications are orbital fractures, foreign body injuries, development of orbital compartment syndrome and traumatic optic neuropathy. Clinical signs include periorbital hematoma or emphysema, subconjunctival hemorrhage, proptosis, decreased ocular mobility, decreased vision, increased intraocular pressure and relative afferent pupillary defect. Ophthalmic status and low-dose CT-imaging provide key information regarding the therapeutic decision. Treatment options include surgical exploration, reconstruction or decompression or a conservative approach with anti-inflammatory or anti-glaucomatous medication. Rapid interdisciplinary diagnostics and therapy is critical for early detection and prevention of irreversible functional loss respectively. Considering the frequent association with life-threatening comorbidities diagnosis may be complicated.

National studies from the Netherlands and Finland and the impact of regulations on incidences of fireworks-related eye injuries.

Fireworks-related eye injuries occur all over the world whenever fireworks are available for the public. The two prospective registers from Finland over 20 years and from the Netherlands over 10 years have tracked the effect of regulations, awareness, and safety campaigns. The incidence of fireworks-related injuries in these two countries has been reduced to about one half during the last 10 years through addressing the number of hours allowed for private fireworks, the use of safety glasses, awareness campaigns, and stricter regulations on fireworks available for purchase. Although the total number of injuries has decreased, the average severity of eye injuries in the Netherlands seems to have increased due to higher content of gunpowder in fireworks. Boys and young men are mainly affected as well as bystanders who account for more than half of fireworks-related eye injuries. More work on safety of fireworks is still needed through regulating private consumer use of fireworks, a challenge that lies ahead for ophthalmologic organizations worldwide, including the European Society of Ophthalmology (SOE), the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) and national societies. But every eye saved from severe injury is worth the effort.

[National studies from the Netherlands and Finland and the impact of regulations on incidences of fireworks-related eye injuries. German version]. / Landesweite Studien aus den Niederlanden und Finnland zur Häufigkeit von Augenverletzungen durch Feuerwerkskörper unter dem Einfluss verschiedener Schutzmaßnahmen.

Fireworks-related eye injuries occur all over the world whenever fireworks are available for the public. The two prospective registers from Finland over 20 years and from the Netherlands over 10 years have tracked the effect of regulations, awareness, and safety campaigns. The incidence of fireworks-related injuries in these two countries has been reduced to about one half during the last 10 years through addressing the number of hours allowed for private fireworks, the use of safety glasses, awareness campaigns, and stricter regulations on fireworks available for purchase. Although the total number of injuries has decreased, the average severity of eye injuries in the Netherlands seems to have increased due to higher content of gunpowder in fireworks. Boys and young men are mainly affected as well as bystanders who account for more than half of fireworks-related eye injuries. More work on safety of fireworks is still needed through regulating private consumer use of fireworks, a challenge that lies ahead for ophthalmologic organizations worldwide, including the European Society of Ophthalmology (SOE), the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) and national societies. But every eye saved from severe injury is worth the effort.

Long-term results after surgical extraction of subfoveal choroidal neovascular membranes with and without haemorrhage in age-related macular degeneration.

BACKGROUND: Surgical extraction has been suggested as a treatment of choroidal neovascular membranes. We demonstrate the long-term results of our patients regarding complications, risk of recurrence and development of visual acuity. METHODS: We have retrospectively evaluated the charts and re-examined the patients who underwent surgical extraction of choroidal neovascular membranes (CNV) because of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) between March 1994 and December 2000 in the Department of Ophthalmology of the Benjamin Franklin Clinic, Berlin. Fifty-two eyes of 49 patients with a minimum follow-up of 12 months after pars plana vitrectomy with CNV extraction and SF6-endotamponade were included. Initially, in 15% of all eyes the lesions were obscured by intravitreal haemorrhage. All visible lesions were located subfoveally. In 40% of all eyes the lesion was predominantly classic; 21% of the lesions were predominantly occult and 23% of the lesions were comprised of more than 50% haemorrhage. The maximum follow-up was 80 months, the mean 46 months. RESULTS: The median initial visual acuity was 0.08 (range: hand movements to 0.4) and the median final visual acuity was not significantly different at 0.067 (range: non lux to 0.4). A loss of less than three lines of visual acuity occurred in 65.4% of our patients. During follow-up, 25% of eyes developed a rhegmatogenous retinal detachment and 19.2% of all eyes suffered from recurrence of CNV. At the end of the follow-up, three eyes (5.8%) suffered from non-treated retinal detachment and three eyes (5.8%) had recurrent CNV lesions. All eyes showed a retinal pigment epithelium defect at the site of former CNV. CONCLUSION: A stabilisation of visual acuity in individual patients with CNV because of AMD can be achieved by surgical extraction, yet the defect of the RPE and the risk of complications limit the benefit. We consider the surgical extraction of CNV from AMD in patients with low initial visual acuity who are not amenable to PDT.