[Strabismus and diplopia after refractive surgery]. / Estrabismo y diplopías tras la cirugía refractiva.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate factors that may decompensate a strabismus or lead to diplopia after refractive surgery. METHODS: Retrospective study of 19 patients, who presented with binocular decompensation after refractive surgery. Mean age at surgery was 38.89 SD 10.26 (27-63) years. Fourteen patients were myopic, 5 hyperopic, and 5 of them had a marked anisometropia. The photo-refractive keratectomy procedure was used in 3 cases, laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) in 13, posterior chamber-IOL)+LASIK in one of them, and bilateral IOL in 2 cases. RESULTS: There was a prevalence of strabismus of 0.12%. All of our patients had a binocular pathology previous to the refractive surgery. After surgery, 11 patients had an esophoria or esotropia, 3 exophoria or exotropia, 2 vertical deviations, and 3 horizontal and vertical deviations. Several factors often worked simultaneously in the same patient, such as: residual accommodation, refractive overcorrection (hyperopia), visual instability or anisoacuity, high myopia and phoria decompensation, elimination of suppression, dominance change, and a presbyopic age. CONCLUSIONS: All of our patients had a previous binocular pathology. Binocularity may decompensate by several factors but mostly by myopic overcorrection, accommodation and visual factors, particularly in patients close to or in presbyopic age, in anisometropia and high myopia.

[Endophthalmitis after cataract surgery: epidemiology, clinical features and antibiotic prophylaxis]. / Endoftalmitis tras cirugía de cataratas: epidemiología, aspectos clínicos y profilaxis antibiótica.

PURPOSE: To estimate the incidence of endophthalmitis after cataract surgery and to describe the main epidemiological and clinical data, as well as the role of intracameral antibiotics. METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on patients who underwent cataract surgery in a public hospital over an 11-year period. An ocular infection database was used to report endophthalmitis occurrences and to collect the clinical features. Qualitative variables are described with their frequency distribution and qualitative variables, with the mean and the standard deviation. RESULTS: From January 1999 to December 2009, 15.173 patients underwent cataract surgery. A total of 43 patients suffered from postoperative endophthalmitis, giving an overall infection rate of 0.28% (95% CI: 0.20-0.36%). Among the 43 cases, there were 19 men and 24 women with a mean age of 78.5. Other clinical parameters evaluated were as follows: 25.58% were diabetic, 44.18% had some degree of immunosuppression and there were complications with posterior capsular tears in 18.6%. As regards antibiotic prophylaxis, 2 groups were considered: the first one did not receive intracameral antibiotic (8,099 patients) and the second group received intracameral cefuroxime (7,074 patients). There were 39 endophthalmitis in the first group with an infection incidence of 0.48% and 4 endophthalmitis in the second group with an infection incidence of 0.056%. The relative risk (RR) after-before cefuroxime was 0.12 (0.04-0.33) with P<0.05. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of endophthalmitis after cataract surgery in an 11-year period was lower than 0.3%. Almost half of the patients had a higher systemic risk. Intracameral cefuroxime resulted in nearly a 9-fold reduction in the rate of infection.

[Decreased visual acuity from optic disc drusen]. / Pérdida de agudeza visual en drusas de papila.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the visual acuity in patients with optic disc drusen and its relationship with the existence of superficial drusen. METHODS: For a six-year period (from 1997 to 2003), fifty-five patients (100 eyes) with optic disc drusen, confirmed with B- echography, were diagnosed. According to their ophthalmoscopic appearance under 20 degrees retinography, the drusen were classified as hidden or visible. We evaluated the best corrected visual acuity. When the visual acuity was less than 0.8, other additional causes of visual impairment were studied. RESULTS: The average visual acute in patients with papillary drusen was 0.82 (maximum 1.2 and minimum 0.05). Lower visual acute was found in those patients with visible drusen. Visual acute was statistically worse (p = 0.016) as the number of drusen increased. The visual acute was normal in 75 cases. The decreased visual acute was exclusively secondary to drusen in 5 cases. In the other 20 patients concomitant causes of visual impairment were found. CONCLUSIONS: A decreased visual acute secondary to drusen is unusual. When present, it is usually moderate and associated with disturbances of the peripheral visual field. There is a significant relationship between the decrease in visual acute and the number of visible drusen. When the central vision is decreased, but not the visual field, other concomitant conditions that could also affect the vision, should be ruled out.

[Influence of visual function on quality of life in patients with glaucoma]. / Influencia de la función visual en la calidad de vida de los pacientes con glaucoma.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship between visual function objective measures and the perceived quality of life in patients with glaucoma and ocular hypertension. METHOD: This was a cross-sectional study of quality of life. Patients required knowledge to understand the questionnaire. PERIOD OF STUDY: April-May 2006. SETTING: third level hospital in Madrid. INSTRUMENT: Visual Function Index (VF-14). Visual acuity, computerized perimetry and ophthalmological examination were all performed. RESULTS: 120 questionnaires were distributed, 89.1% were returned completed. Cronbach's alpha was used for data validity and reliability (0.88). 49 patients had ocular hypertension (HTO) and 71 had glaucoma (52.1% men and 47.9% women). The mean health status was 73.9 (SD 24.13; range: 0-100); HTO: 81.4 (SD: 16.3) and glaucoma: 68.69 (SD:22) (p=0.001). These results were significantly correlated with the quality of life and visual acuity (r=0.51), mean deviation (MD) r=0.35, education level (p=0.024), and sex (p=0.031). No significant differences were found in the older groups or for evolution time. CONCLUSIONS: Quality of life measures can be useful in the management of patients with glaucoma, as a moderate relationship was found between quality of life, visual acuity and visual field loss in such patients. The VF-14 seems to discriminate between glaucoma and ocular hypertensive patients.

[Binocular vision following refractive surgery in hyperopic patients]. / Visión binocular tras cirugía refractiva en pacientes hipermétropes.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the changes in binocular vision and ocular motility in hyperopic patients undergoing refractive surgery. METHODS: Prospective study of 31 consecutive patients who underwent bilateral refractive surgery for hyperopia between May 1999 and February 2002. The examination included best-corrected visual acuity, cycloplegic refraction, ocular motility, fusion at distance, stereopsis and fusional amplitudes, before and at one month, 3 months, 6 months, one year after surgery and annually thereafter. RESULTS: After refractive surgery, there were changes in visual acuity, residual hyperopic refractive errors, and anisometropic changes that influenced the oculomotor status. The most frequent sensory modifications were suppression at distance, with much less change in stereopsis. From the point of view of ocular motility, we found a significant tendency to esotropia in strabismic patients (p=0.003). In non-strabismic patients, we also found sensorimotor modifications, but of less intensity and with fewer consequences than in strabismic patients. Sensorial and/or motor decompensation appeared in 25% of strabismic patients, and asthenopia symptoms developed in 28.7% in the same group. CONCLUSIONS: Slight binocular modifications with no symptomatic consequences were found in patients with normal binocular vision. However ocular motility was modified towards esotropia in strabismic patients, binocular decompensation appeared in 25%, and 28.7% of them suffered from asthenopia.

[Efficiency of brimonidine 0.2% and dorzolamide 2% as adjunctive therapy to beta-blockers]. / Eficacia de brimonidina 0,2% y dorzolamida 2% como tratamiento adyuvante a un beta-bloqueante.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical efficiency and tolerability of brimonidine and dorzolamide twice daily as an adjunctive therapy for glaucoma patients with an inadequate response to beta-blockers therapy. METHODS: This multicenter prospective analysis included 92 patients (180 eyes) with primary open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension on therapy beta-blockers and with intraocular pressure (IOP) greater than or equal to 18mmHg. The patients were randomly treated either with brimonidine 0.2% or dorzolamide 2% added for three months. Efficiency was determined by the reduction in 15% IOP from baseline at the first and the third month. RESULTS: Mean pre-treatment IOP was 22.37 DE 2.8 mmHg in the brimonidine group and 22.38 DE 2.6 mmHg in the dorzolamide group; mean post-treatment IOP decrease was 4.39 mmHg in the brimonidine group and 3.29 mmHg in the dorzolamide group. Clinical control at the first month was achieved in 78.3% and 71% of cases respectively (p=0.05). No statistical differences existed between groups for systemic adverse events. Four patients on brimonidine discontinued treatment due to local side effects. In the dorzolamide group, two patients left the treatment referring itching and three others left due to ocular allergy. CONCLUSIONS: This study found similar efficiency and safety when treating with brimonidine or dorzolamide as an adjunctive therapy for patients with hypertension or primary open-angle glaucoma.

[Digital analysis of the optic disc with fundus camera: a study of variability]. / Análisis digital de la papila con cámara de fondo convencional: estudio de variabilidad.

PURPOSE: To determine the variability of the measurements of the optic discs applying digital analysis techniques and working with a digital camera available for clinical use. METHOD: We used a fundus camera with telecentric optic system (Zeiss FF 450 IR plus) and a 3 CCD high resolution colour video camera. We used a digital analysis system (Visupac 3.2.1) equipped with measurement systems. The images were studied by three observers with different degrees of experience who analysed the optic disc diameters (horizontal and vertical) and the total optic disc area. 180 measurements were made. RESULTS: The coefficient of total variability for the studied parameters presented a range from 1.04 to 2.08%. The variability attributable to the observer was found to be lower in the case of the observer with a higher imaging analysis experience, with a range from 0.42 to 1.17% for the lineal measurements (vertical and horizontal diameters) and from 0.60 to 2.11% for measurements of the area (total optic disc area). CONCLUSIONS: The digital analysis of optic disc images obtained with conventional fundus cameras, equipped with telecentric optic systems, allows reproducible measures and can be easily employed in clinical practice.

[Indocyanine green angiography in chorioretinal inflammatory diseases]. / Valoración de enfermedades inflamatorias coriorretinianas con angiografía verde indocianina.

PURPOSE: To determine the role of indocyanine green angiography (ICG) in handling chorioretinal inflammatory disorders. METHOD: We present several posterior uveitis whose diagnosis and therapeutic approach was facilitated with ICG. RESULTS: ICG is useful in the differential diagnosis of <>. In serpiginous choroiditis, the edges and the progression of the inflammatory areas are clearly delineated. In infectious uveitis such as toxoplasmosis, ICG determines the presence or absence of active lesions. There are granulomatous diseases such as sarcoidosis where some areas of choroidal inflammation that cannot be detected with other methods are shown by ICG. Moreover, ICG can detect areas of subretinal neovascularization in some choroidal pathologies such as polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy. CONCLUSIONS: ICG appears to be a useful and complementary tool in the clinical interpretation of posterior uveitis.

Human aqueous humor levels of oral ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, and moxifloxacin.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the penetration of ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, and moxifloxacin into the aqueous humor after oral administration. SETTING: Alcorcon Hospital, Madrid, Spain. METHODS: Forty-two patients having cataract surgery were randomly divided into 3 groups the day before surgery. The first group received 2 oral 500 mg doses of ciprofloxacin at 12-hour intervals. The second group received a single oral 500 mg dose of levofloxacin. The third group received a single oral 400 mg dose of moxifloxacin. At the time of surgery, 0.1 mL aqueous fluid was aspirated from the anterior chamber just before the operation and immediately stored at -80 degrees C. Drug concentrations were measured using a biological assay. RESULTS: The mean aqueous level of ciprofloxacin was 0.50 microg/mL +/- 0.25 (SD); of levofloxacin, 1.50 +/- 0.50 microg/mL; and of moxifloxacin, 2.33 +/- 0.85 microg/mL. The mean aqueous levels of levofloxacin and moxifloxacin were above the 90% minimum inhibitory concentration for most of the common microorganisms that cause endophthalmitis. CONCLUSIONS: Therapeutic concentrations of fluoroquinolones, mainly levofloxacin and moxifloxacin, were reached with oral administration. These antibiotics may be effective for prophylaxis and adjuvant therapy of bacterial endophthalmitis.

In vitro adhesion of Staphylococcus epidermidis to intraocular lenses.

PURPOSE: To compare the in vitro adherence of slime-producing and non-slime-producing Staphylococcus epidermidis to different intraocular lenses (IOLs) to study the organism's contribution to postoperative endophthalmitis. METHODS: Strains of slime-positive (ATCC 35984) and slime-negative (ATCC 12228) S epidermidis were used. The IOLs were made of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), PMMA with polypropylene haptics, silicone, hydrogel, acrylic, heparin-surface-modified (HSM) PMMA, and fluorine-surface-modified PMMA. The lenses were incubated overnight with bacteria, then sonicated and vortexed to separate the adhered bacteria. Quantitative cultures were performed and the results statistically analyzed. RESULTS: Slime-negative strains of S epidermidis adhered to all IOLs but at a lower level than slime-positive strains. The most adherent lenses were acrylic with the positive strain and PMMA with the negative strain. The least adherent IOLs were PMMA with the positive strain and hydrogel with the negative strain. There were no significant differences between rigid and foldable lenses. Polypropylene was significantly more adherent than PMMA to the slime-positive strain. The acrylic and the HSM PMMA IOLs were significantly more adherent to the positive strain. CONCLUSIONS: In vitro, there were significant differences in bacterial adhesion among IOL materials. Slime-positive strains of S epidermidis were more adherent than slime-negative ones.