The Well-Being of the German Adult Population Measured with the WHO-5 over Different Phases of the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Analysis within the COVID-19 Snapshot Monitoring Study (COSMO).

The aim of this study is to evaluate factors associated with the subjective well-being (SWB) and suspected depression measured with WHO-5 among German adults during different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. Survey data were analyzed from the COVID-19 Snapshot Monitoring (COSMO) study, which collected data from 972, 1013, and 973 participants in time point 1 (19-20 May 2020), time point 2 (15-16 September 2020), and time point 3 (21-22 December 2020), respectively. Descriptive analyses and logistic regression analyses to identify the factors associated with suspected depression (WHO-5 ≤ 50) were conducted. Data showed that the mean WHO-5 scores in three time points were 56.17, 57.27, and 53.93, respectively. The risk of suspected depression was increased by about 1.5 times for females, 2.5-3 times among 18-24 year-olds compared to ages above 65 years, 1.5 times for singles, 2 times for those with chronic illnesses, and 2-3 times for people living in poverty. The main study findings show that German adult SWB is lower than pre-pandemic reference values. Special focus should be placed on vulnerable groups, such as females, younger persons, and people living in poverty who are most prone to a reduction in SWB and therefore suspected depression.

Inner Nuclear Layer Microcyst Configuration, Distribution, and Visual Prognosis in Patients With Epiretinal Membrane After Vitrectomy and Membrane Peeling.

Inner nuclear layer(INL) microcysts at central macula are a common finding in patients with epiretinal membrane (ERM) after vitrectomy and membrane peeling. Using en face mode of optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography, patients with ERM after surgery were retrospectively reviewed to understand the configuration and distribution of microcysts as well as their impact on visual acuity. Forty-six eligible patients were enrolled and their baseline best-corrected visual acuities improved from 20/67 to 20/29 (P < 0.01) after surgery. Twenty-eight (60.9%) patients had microcysts that appeared at a median of 5 months after the surgery and persisted for mean 16 months follow-up. The microcyst appeared as spheroidal shape with length ranged from 20 to 80 µm and widths of 80 µm in average. They tend to group in cluster with a density of 245 microcysts per mm2. The frequency of microcyst distribution was 86%, 54%, 32%, 25% and 18% at the nasal, superior, inferior, temporal quadrants and central 1 mm, respectively. Linear regression analysis showed that INL microcysts at central and temporal quadrants were associated with poorer visual acuity (P = 0.02 and P = 0.01, respectively). The presence of INL microcysts in center subfield and involved wider area is a poor prognostic factor for visual outcomes.

Acute macular edema and peripapillary soft exudate after pancreas transplantation with accelerated progression of diabetic retinopathy.

BACKGROUND: The effect of pancreas transplantation on diabetic retinopathy remains inconclusive. Herein, we report six patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) who underwent pancreas transplantation and developed acute macular edema and peripapillary soft exudate with rapid progression to proliferative diabetic retinopathy. METHODS: In this retrospective observational study, diabetic patients who underwent pancreas transplantation in a single medical center and developed symptomatic acute macular edema and peripapillary soft exudate within 3 months after the operation were enrolled. The complete ophthalmic course and medical records of the patients were retrospectively reviewed. Diabetic retinopathy and progression following treatment after pancreas transplantation were measured. RESULTS: Six Chinese women with type 1 DM were enrolled in this study. Mean hemoglobin (Hb) A1c was 13.4% prior to transplantation and decreased rapidly to 6.5% within 2 months postsurgery. The patients had no or mild pretransplant diabetic retinopathy and developed acute symptomatic macular edema and peripapillary soft exudate in both eyes after pancreas transplantation. All macular edema resolved either with or without treatment. Five cases progressed to proliferative diabetic retinopathy and received panretinal photocoagulation. Diabetic retinopathy remained stable in all eyes after treatment, and the visual prognosis was good, except in one eye that had macular branch retinal artery occlusion with foveal involvement. CONCLUSION: Acute macular edema after pancreas transplantation has a favorable treatment outcome despite rapid progression to proliferative diabetic retinopathy. High pretransplant HbA1c and abrupt blood sugar normalization may be related to the disease course.

POSTOPERATIVE INNER NUCLEAR LAYER MICROCYSTS AFFECTING LONG-TERM VISUAL OUTCOMES AFTER EPIRETINAL MEMBRANE SURGERY.

PURPOSE: To investigate the risk factors and long-term visual impact of microcysts in the inner nuclear layer developed after epiretinal membrane (ERM) surgery. METHODS: This study used a retrospective review of medical records, operative video and images of patients who had undergone idiopathic ERM surgery with more than 12 months of follow-up. RESULTS: This study enrolled 44 patients (44 eyes) with ERM and a mean follow-up period of 30.2 months. The visual acuity improved from a mean of 6/22.8 to 6/12 (P < 0.001). Results indicated that a final visual acuity greater than 0.5 was associated with younger age, better preoperative visual acuity, a complete postoperative inner segment and outer segment line, and absence of inner nuclear layer microcysts. The visual acuity difference between patients with and without inner nuclear layer microcysts emerged in the first month and continued throughout the entire study period. Shorter duration of visual symptoms, more severe grade of ERM with paravascular abnormalities, and retinal petechiae immediately after the peeling of the ERM are risk factors of microcysts. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that inner nuclear layer microcysts are induced shortly after surgery and have long-term visual effects. Factors associated with this side effect suggest that severity, acuteness, and adhesiveness of ERM may play a significant role in visual outcomes.

Retinal detachment with a break at pars plicata associated with congenital malformation of the lens-zonule-ciliary body complex.

Retinal detachment with a break at the pars plicata associated with congenital malformation of lens-zonule-ciliary body complex is rare; most reports are of young Japanese male patients with atopic dermatitis. The present case report is the first to describe the condition in a Chinese patient with no atopic dermatitis or trauma history. A 22-year-old male presented with blurred vision in the left eye for 4 months. Fundus examination revealed shallow lower temporal retinal detachment. Further examination with scleral indentation under maximal pupil dilatation identified a break at the far periphery beyond the ora serrata and pars plana. Gonioscopy revealed a pars plicata break at the nonpigmented ciliary epithelium associated with congenital ciliary process hypoplasia and subtle lens defect at the same meridian. The retina was successfully reattached after segmental scleral buckling, cryopexy, and laser photocoagulation.

Persistent exudative retinal detachment after photodynamic therapy and intravitreal bevacizumab injection for multiple retinal capillary hemangiomas in a patient with von Hippel-Lindau disease.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been used in treating peripheral retinal capillary hemangioma (RCH) with satisfactory results. We report a rare case of von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease with three large peripheral RCHs, treated with PDT and intravitreal bevacizumab injection (IVB), who developed persistent bullous exudative retinal detachment (RD) despite significant tumor regression. The patient is a sporadic case of VHL disease, with a de novo nonsense mutation in codon 161 with C → T transition at nucleotide position 694 of the VHL gene. Multiple RCHs were noted in both eyes. Four small RCHs were found in the left eye and were treated with laser photocoagulation. Three large RCHs in the peripheral retina of the right eye were complicated with cystoid macular edema and subretinal fluid accumulation. The RCHs were treated with PDT combined with IVB, and bullous exudative RD developed on the second day after treatment. Three months after PDT, the tumors had regressed significantly, but exudative RD persisted, despite multiple IVB and intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide injection (IVTA). External drainage with sclera buckling, IVB, and IVTA were performed, and the retina attached after surgical intervention. The application of PDT in the treatment of RCHs and its possible complications are discussed.