[ECONOMIC INEQUALITY AND AMBLYOPIA TREATMENT SUCCESS RATES - EXPERIENCE OF A TERTIARY CENTER IN ISRAEL].

INTRODUCTION: Amblyopia is a common cause of visual impairment in children. There is circumstantial evidence for the correlation between living in impoverished areas and treatment failure. However, no large study directly assessed this correlation. AIMS: To check the correlation between socioeconomic status and amblyopia treatment success rates, in children 3-18 years old. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study, review of the electronic medical records of patients treated for amblyopia in a tertiary center during a period of 24 years. RESULTS: A total of 102 participants were enrolled in the study, of whom 50 came from impoverished areas and were the study group. The study and control group participants had similar distribution of age, sex and baseline clinical data. Study group participants had significantly lower baseline visual acuity. The mean follow-up time was 34 months. Both groups had a significant improvement in visual acuity and a significant decline in severe amblyopia proportion. Final visual acuity, visual improvement and amblyopia severity were similar in both groups. The proportion of successful treatments was similar in both groups. DISCUSSION: Although participants from impoverished areas began follow-up with significantly lower visual acuity, their vision has improved during follow-up and was similar to final visual acuity of the control group. Amblyopia treatment has eliminated the gap in visual acuity between amblyopic patients from impoverished areas and amblyopic patients in the general population. Conclusion: Given good treatment compliance, social disparities were not significant determinants of amblyopia treatment success.

Ocular manifestations among patients with congenital insensitivity to pain due to variants in PRDM12 and SCN9A genes.

Congenital insensitivity to pain (CIP) is a group of rare genetic disorders with a common characteristic of absent sensation to nociceptive pain. Here we present a series of six patients; three had a novel variant in the PRDM12 gene (group A), and three had a missense variant in the SCN9A gene (group B). We compared the ocular manifestations between the two groups. Records of these patients from 2009 through 2018 were reviewed. The retrieved data included demographics, genetic analysis results, ocular history and ophthalmic findings including visual acuity, corneal sensitivity, tear production, ocular surface findings, cycloplegic refraction, and fundoscopy. We found that patients with PRDM12 variant had more severe manifestations of ocular surface disease, with more prevalent corneal opacities and worse visual acuity, compared to patients with SCN9A variant.

Ocular manifestations of congenital insensitivity to pain: a long-term follow-up.

AIM: To describe ocular manifestations in children with congenital insensitivity to pain with and without anhidrosis (CIPA and CIP). METHODS: We reviewed records of eye examinations of 39 children diagnosed with CIPA or CIP. We collected clinical data, with particular attention to ocular surface findings. Corneal sensitivity was tested by presence of a blink reflex upon touching the cornea. Statistical analysis assessed differences in manifestations between the two conditions, and relationships among corneal sensitivity, presence of corneal opacities and visual acuity (VA). RESULTS: CIPA was diagnosed in 32 children and CIP in 7. The median follow-up periods were 50 months (CIPA group) and 94 months (CIP group). Corneal opacities were present in 23% of CIPA eyes and in 57% of CIP eyes. A blink reflex was positive in 52% of CIPA eyes and in 33% of CIP eyes. We recorded VA ≥20/25 in 36% of CIPA eyes, whereas all patients with CIP had VA ≤20/30. For the whole cohort, we found a negative correlation between a preserved blink reflex and the presence of corneal opacities, and a positive correlation between a preserved blink reflex and VA ≥20/25. CONCLUSION: Children with congenital insensitivity to pain are prone to develop corneal scarring. Patients with CIP tend to have more severe ocular surface disease than those with CIPA, probably due to more prevalent loss of corneal sensation. In both groups, a preserved blink reflex correlated with good vision. Affected children should have close follow-up to promptly treat ocular surface disease and prevent vision loss.

Maternal smoking during pregnancy and long-term ophthalmic morbidity of the offspring.

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether smoking during pregnancy is correlated with long-term ophthalmic complications of the offspring. STUDY DESIGN: A population-based cohort analysis was performed comparing all deliveries of mothers who reported smoking during pregnancy and non-smoking mothers between 1991 and 2014 at a single tertiary medical center. Hospitalizations of the offspring up to the age of 18 years involving ophthalmic morbidities were evaluated according to a predefined set of ICD-9 codes. A Kaplan-Meier curve was used to compare cumulative hospitalization rate in exposed and unexposed offspring and a Cox proportional hazards model was used to control for confounders. RESULTS: During the study period, 243,680 deliveries met the inclusion criteria. Of them, 2965 (1.2%) were children of smoking mothers. Ophthalmic-related hospitalizations were significantly higher in children born to smoking mothers, as compared with the non-smoking group (1.4% vs. 0.1%, p < 0.01). Specifically, these hospitalizations were due to higher rates of visual disturbance rate and ophthalmic infections. The Kaplan-Meier curve demonstrated a significant higher cumulative incidence of ophthalmic-related hospitalizations in the smoking group (log rank p < 0.001). Using a Cox proportional hazards model, controlling for potential confounders, maternal tobacco use was found to be independently associated with long-term ophthalmic morbidity of the offspring (adjusted HR = 1.51, CI 1.11-2.04). CONCLUSION: Maternal smoking during pregnancy is an independent risk factor for long-term ophthalmic morbidity of the offspring. These results are in line with many recent studies that strongly support maternal smoking cessation during pregnancy due to high offspring morbidity risk.

Safety of intracameral moxifloxacin in the pediatric population: an equivalence study.

PURPOSE: To investigate whether the safety of intracameral moxifloxacin (IC-Mox) was equivalent to subconjunctival antibiotics (SC-Abs) in pediatric lens surgery. SETTING: The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada. DESIGN: Retrospective consecutive cohort study. METHODS: This equivalence study compared 95% CI in the difference between the preoperative and postoperative safety variables of best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure (IOP), central corneal thickness (CCT), endothelial cell density (ECD), corneal edema, and anterior chamber (AC) inflammation in IC-Mox with SC-Abs. The zone of clinical equivalence for BCVA was set at ±0.2 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution, IOP at ±3 mm Hg, CCT at ±30 µm, and ECD at ±400 cells/mm. RESULTS: The charts of 358 patients undergoing lens-related surgeries were reviewed. Of 317 eyes (215 patients) included, 170 eyes received IC-Mox and 147 eyes had SC-Abs. The mean age was 4.9 and 5.1 years with a mean follow-up of 19 and 34.4 months (P < .001) in IC-Mox and SC-Ab groups, respectively. The 95% CIs for the change from preoperative to postoperative safety parameters between IC-Mox and SC-Abs were all in the zones of clinical equivalence (BCVA, P = 0.75; highest IOP in the first 6 weeks postoperatively, P = 0.27; IOP at the last visit, P = 0.74; CCT, P = 0.89; and ECD, P = 0.76). During the first 6 weeks postoperatively, there was no difference in corneal edema (P = .69) and AC flare (P = .4) between IC-Mox and SC-Ab groups, whereas AC cellular activity was significantly higher in the SC-Ab group (P = .028). CONCLUSIONS: IC-Mox prophylaxis in pediatric patients showed equivalent postoperative safety outcomes when compared with SC-Abs. The use of IC-Mox (250 µg) for endophthalmitis prophylaxis appears to be safe in the pediatric population.

Sutureless extraocular muscle biopsy technique.

PURPOSE: To describe a simple and novel technique of obtaining an extraocular muscle (EOM) biopsy. METHODS: Our sutureless method involves obtaining a full-thickness 3-mm EOM specimen using a disposable punch biopsy. RESULTS: The procedure was performed successfully, with no worsening of eye movement, muscle weakness, or cosmetic defects postoperatively. The acquired full-thickness specimen was sufficient for analysis. CONCLUSIONS: This technique to obtain an EOM biopsy allows a straightforward sutureless method, providing an adequate sample for tissue scrutiny.

[Treatment of fungal keratitis by penetrating keratoplasty].

BACKGROUND: Fungal keratitis is basically treated by medications. Several cases of fungal keratitis were reported around the world to have been treated successfully by corneal graft--penetrating keratoplasty (PKP). Studies have shown that PKP is a useful treatment, preserves eye globe integrity, and rehabilitates vision in patients with advanced fungal keratitis. AIM: To study the use of penetrating keratoplasty for the treatment of severe fungal keratitis that could not be cured by antifungal medication. METHODS: The authors conducted a retrospective analysis of all cases (five cases) of severe fungal keratitis treated and followed-up at the Department of Ophthalmology, Soroka University Medical Center during 2007 and 2008, in which therapeutic PKP was performed. There were one male and 4 females. The age range was between 27 and 78 years. The follow-up period ranged from 4 to 15 months. RESULTS: Corneal graft remained clear during follow-up in most patients. There was no recurrence of fungal infection and the visual acuity ranged from counting fingers (FC) from 50 cm to 6/36. Complications in some patients included graft rejection in one patient with re-graft which remained clear during follow-up period of 6 months, another patient had a minimal partial graft rejection and incipient cataract which didn't necessitate further intervention. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: PKP is an effective treatment for fungal keratitis that does not respond to antifungal medication. Early surgical intervention before deterioration is recommended.