Topical Losartan for Treating Corneal Haze After Ultraviolet-A/Riboflavin Collagen Cross-Linking.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to report our first clinical experience using topical losartan for the treatment of severe corneal haze after epithelium-off corneal cross-linking (CXL). METHODS: A 20-year-old man presented with clinically significant corneal haze in the right eye 1 month following Ultraviolet-A/Riboflavin Epithelium-off Collagen CXL. Haze progressed to a deep stromal scar, and vision was 20/150 with no improvement on refraction, 60 days after CXL. After unsuccessful treatment with topical corticosteroids, the patient elected to start off-label treatment with topical losartan 0.8 mg/mL, administered 6 times per day. RESULTS: After 3 months of initiating topical losartan, the right eye vision improved to preoperative vision of 20/40-1. Corneal haze was significantly reduced as observed on slitlamp examination and on Scheimpflug corneal tomography (Pentacam; OCULUS, Inc. Arlington, WA). CONCLUSIONS: Topical losartan, a transforming growth factor-ß inhibitor, is a potential treatment in clinically significant corneal haze following epithelium-off corneal CXL. This clinical experience highlights the potential efficacy of topical losartan as a novel therapeutic option in such cases, but further clinical studies are needed.

Education and Misinformation: Exploring Ophthalmology Content on TikTok.

INTRODUCTION: With the continuous rise of social media usage, more patients are looking online for health-related information. TikTok is one of the fastest-growing video-based social media platforms, but the quality of its ophthalmologic content, at a comprehensive level, has not been previously analyzed. We aim to explore and characterize popular ophthalmology content on TikTok, including the presence of misinformation. METHODS: Between April 16 and May 22, 2023, 37 different ophthalmology-relevant hashtags were queried on TikTok, and the top 20 most-liked videos per hashtag were analyzed. The quality of educational videos was graded on understandability and actionability using the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Audiovisual Materials (PEMAT-A/V). Trends in creator identity, content type, engagement metrics, misinformation presence, and TikTok verification status were also assessed. RESULTS: The 37 ophthalmology-related hashtags yielded 723 videos comprising 3.806 billion views. A minority of videos were created by ophthalmologists (16.9%) and eyecare providers (35.1%), while the majority were created by non-healthcare providers (55.0%). The most common types of videos identified were primarily related to personal experiences (35.8%) and education (38.0%). Amongst educational videos, mean PEMAT-A/V understandability and actionability scores were 88.1% and 50.6%, respectively. Misinformation was found in 5.4% of all videos, comprising 4.8% of all likes, 4.7% of all comments, and 11.7% of all bookmarks. Its presence was significantly correlated with content created by non-healthcare providers (p < 0.001) and received a disproportionately higher percentage of bookmarks. CONCLUSIONS: This was the largest, most comprehensive evaluation of ophthalmologic content on TikTok. A significant portion of popular ophthalmologic content on TikTok is created by non-eyecare providers and contains misinformation. Our findings confirm the need for ophthalmologists to create more engaging, actionable, and factual educational content to combat misinformation adoption.