Should intravitreal dexamethasone implant in refractory diabetic macular edema be used as an adjuvant therapy or switch therapy?

PURPOSE: To compare the outcomes of intravitreal dexamethasone implant used as either an adjuvant or a switching therapy for diabetic macular edema in patients with poor anatomic response after three consecutive monthly injections of ranibizumab. METHODS: This retrospective study included patients with diabetic macular edema who received three consecutive doses of ranibizumab as initial therapy and demonstrated poor response. A single dose of intravitreal de xamethasone implant was administered to these patients. The patients were divided into two groups according to the treatment modalities: the adjuvant therapy group, consisting of patients who continued treatment with ranibizumab injection after receiving intravitreal dexamethasone implant, and the switch therapy group, consisting of patients who were switched from ranibizumab treatment to intravitreal dexamethasone implant as needed. The main outcome measurements were best corrected visual acuity and central retinal thickness at baseline and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of follow-up. RESULTS: In this study that included 64 eyes of 64 patients, the best corrected visual acuity and central retinal thickness values did not significantly differ between the groups at baseline and at 6 months of follow-up (p>0.05). However, at 12 months, the best corrected visual acuity values in the adjuvant and switch therapy groups were 0.46 and 0.35 LogMAR, respectively (p=0.012), and the central retinal thickness values were 344.8 and 270.9, respectively (p=0.007). CONCLUSIONS: In a real-world setting, it seems more reasonable to use intravitreal dexamethasone implant as a switch therapy rather than an adjuvant therapy for diabetic macula edema refractory to ranibizumab despite three consecutive monthly injections of ranibizumab. Patients switched to intravitreal dexamethasone implant were found to have better anatomic and visual outcomes at 12 months than those who continued ranibizumab therapy despite their less-than-optimal responses.

Three-year outcomes of a novel toric intraocular lens implantation for moderate-high myopic astigmatism in phakic eyes.

PURPOSE: To investigate the three-year visual, refractive outcomes and adverse events of the Eyecryl toric phakic IOL (pIOL) for moderate-to-high myopic astigmatism. METHODS: This retrospective study included eligible patients who underwent refractive surgery in one or both eyes with Eyecryl toric pIOL for myopic astigmatism. The efficacy, safety, predictability, rotational stability, vector analysis, and adverse events were evaluated in patients with spherical refraction from - 4.50 to -17.00 diopters (D) and cylindrical refraction from - 0.75 to -5.50 D. RESULTS: Fifty-two eyes of 28 patients were included in the study. The mean efficacy and safety index were 1.12 ± 0.35 and 1.38 ± 0.42, respectively. The mean manifest refraction spherical equivalent was - 10.06 ± 2.69 D and - 0.64 ± 0.61 D preoperatively and postoperatively at 36 months, respectively. The mean manifest astigmatism was - 2.06 ± 1.16 D and - 0.44 ± 0.48 D preoperatively and 36 months postoperative, respectively. During the final examination, 70% of the eyes showed an increase in CDVA of one or more lines compared to their preoperative state. There was a cumulative endothelial cell loss of 3.1% at 36 months postoperatively. One eye developed visually significant anterior subcapsular opacity, whereas another eye experienced pIOL opacification. CONCLUSION: The Eyecryl toric pIOL demonstrated satisfactory visual acuity and refractive outcomes, as assessed by efficacy, safety and stability over a three-year period.

Evaluation of pericardium patch graft thickness in patients with Ahmed glaucoma valve implantation: an anterior segment OCT study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the changes in thickness of tissues, specifically the pericardium patch graft (PPG) covering the silicone tube in Ahmed Glaucoma Valve (AGV) surgery. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective observational study. METHODS: This study included cases with refractory glaucoma that underwent AGV implantation with PPG coverage. Conjunctival epithelium, stroma and PPG thickness covering the tube were measured using anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) at 1, 6 and 12 months. Additionally, the same measurements were taken 1500 µm away from the tube as a control for the central measurements. RESULTS: Twenty-seven eyes of 27 patients were evaluated in the study. Although PPG thickness decreased significantly in both regions, the amount of reduction was more pronounced centrally. Centrally, the reduction rate was 21.2% and 34.8% during the 1-6 months period and 6-12 months period, while peripherally it was 3.5% and 5.1%, respectively. No change was observed in the thickness of the epithelium during the follow-up period. There was a significant thinning of the stroma in the central and peripheral regions during the 1-6 months period (30.5% and 17%, respectively). No cases of exposure were observed during the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: Although the most evident thinning of the layers covering the tube was observed in the early postoperative period, PPG showed a stable decrease even in the late period. The progressive reduction in the PPG thickness observed also in the peripheral region indicates that factors beyond mechanical forces contribute to this degenerative process. AS-OCT could be a valuable non-invasive tool in clarifying this process.

Long term results of three anti-vascular endothelial growth factor agents in pachychoroid neovasculopathy.

PURPOSE: To assess morphological changes and visual results in eyes with pachychoroid neovasculopathy (PNV) that underwent different intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective, observational, comparative study that included 76 PNV eyes in 76 patients that were allocated to three groups according to the monotherapy injection procedure, as follows: the intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) group, intravitreal ranibizumab (IVR) group, and intravitreal aflibercept (IVA) group. Central macular thickness (CMT), best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) were measured at baseline, after treatment 1st month, 3rd month, 6th month, and 12th month, and at the final post-treatment examination. RESULTS: Mean age of the patients was 57.31 ± 5.91 years (range: 34-67 years). The mean duration of follow-up was 31.50 ± 12.91 months (range: 13-60 months). The IVB group included 30 eyes, the IVR group included 22 eyes, and the IVA group included 24 eyes. There weren't any significant differences in BCVA changes between the groups at any post-baseline measurement time point. Although CMT did not change significantly in the IVB group from baseline to the final follow-up visit (baseline: 376.33 ± 86.31 µm; final visit: 340.80 ± 122.70 µm) (p = 0.172), CMT did change significantly in the IVA group (baseline: 383.41 ± 131.83 µm; final visit: 297.33 ± 103.81 µm) (p = 0.029) and IVR group (baseline: 379.18 ± 97.93 µm; final visit: 335.72 ± 111.45 µm) (p = 0.041). SFCT decreased significantly in the IVR and IVA groups (p = 0.015 and p < 0.001, respectively). The mean number of injections was 12.06 ± 4.72 (range: 6-20) in the IVB group, 11.81 ± 3.31(range: 7-17) in the IVR group, and 7.16 ± 3.15 (range: 4-13) in the IVA group (p = 0.004). CONCLUSION: All three anti-VEGFs were effective in terms of visual results in patients with PNV. Patients treated with IVA required fewer injections than those treated with IVB or IVR. Furthermore, IVR and IVA treatment significantly decreased SFCT, whereas IVB did not.

Visual rehabilitation by using corneal wavefront-guided transepithelial photorefractive keratectomy for corneal opacities after epidemic keratoconjunctivitis.

PURPOSE: To evaluate long-term visual and refractive outcomes of corneal wavefront-guided transepithelial photorefractive keratectomy (t-PRK) with mitomycin C for the treatment of corneal opacities secondary to adenoviral epidemic keratoconjunctivitis. METHODS: Records of patients who underwent corneal wavefront-guided t-PRK with excimer laser from January 2012 to December 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Preoperative and postoperative uncorrected visual acuity, best-spectacle corrected visual acuity, slit-lamp biomicroscopic examination findings, manifest refraction, and corneal aberrations and fundus examination findings were evaluated. RESULTS: Twenty-two eyes of 22 patients comprising 12 male (55%) and 10 female (45%) were treated. The mean age was 34.5 ± 10.8 years (range 19-55). The mean follow-up time was 34.4 ± 17.50 months (range 13-61 months). There was a statistically significant improvement in UCVA and BSCVA (p < 0.001 and p = 0.02), and there was a significant decrease in total higher-order aberrations, spherical, coma and trefoil aberration at postoperative first year (p < 0.001 in each). In two eyes of two patients, minimal haze formation was observed after the procedure, and both eyes were treated with topical steroid. No recurrence was observed in subepithelial infiltrates in any patient during long-term follow-up. CONCLUSION: In long-term clinical follow-up, corneal wavefront-guided t-PRK treatment is an effective and reliable treatment method for rehabilitation of visual impairment due to corneal scars following adenoviral infections, in properly selected patients.

Comparative study of small-incision lenticule extraction and phakic intraocular lens implantation for the correction of high myopia: 6-year results.

PURPOSE: To compare the long-term safety, efficacy, and complications of small-incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) and flexible iris-fixated anterior chamber phakic intraocular lens (pIOL) implantation for the treatment of high myopia. SETTING: University of Health Science Turkey, Beyoglu Eye Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. DESIGN: Retrospective comparative case series. METHODS: Data of patients who underwent SMILE or pIOL (Artiflex) implantation for myopia were retrospectively reviewed. Only patients with preoperative manifest refraction spherical equivalent from -6.00 to -10.00 diopters (D) were included in the study. RESULTS: There were 47 eyes of 32 patients in the SMILE group and 52 eyes of 29 patients in the pIOL group. The mean postoperative follow-up was 63.75 ± 18.40 months in the SMILE group and 65.38 ± 16.22 months in the p-IOL group (P = .71). At 6 years postoperatively, refractive predictability was slightly better in the pIOL group, and the percentages of eyes within ±0.50 D of the attempted correction were 77% and 83% in the SMILE and pIOL groups, respectively. Although mean uncorrected distance visual acuity was comparable (SMILE, 0.12 ± 0.06 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution [logMAR]; p-IOL, 0.09 ± 0.05 logMAR), the safety indices (1.08 ± 0.22 vs 1.11 ± 0.20; P = .02) and the efficacy indices (0.92 ± 0.24 vs 1.11 ± 0.22; P = .03) were statistically significantly higher after pIOL implantation. Despite a mean of 11.09% of the endothelial cell being lost at 6 years after pIOL implantation, no pIOL was explanted due to endothelial cell loss. CONCLUSIONS: In this comparative and long-term study, iris-fixated anterior chamber pIOL implantation for high myopic correction showed slightly better safety and efficacy profiles but with statistically significant endothelial cell loss.