Assessment of gastric pouch blood supply with indocyanine green fluorescence in conversional and revisional bariatric surgery: a prospective comparative study.

Our study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of indocyanine green (ICG) angiography during conversional or revisional bariatric surgery. We prospectively enrolled all patients scheduled for reoperative bariatric surgery with gastric pouch resizing and ICG assessment and we compared them with a retrospective series of similar patients who did not receive ICG. The primary outcome was the rate of intraoperative change in the surgical strategy due to the ICG test. We included 32 prospective patients receiving intraoperatively an ICG perfusion test and 48 propensity score-matched controls. The mean age was 50.7 ± 9.7 years, 67 (83.7%) patients were female, and the mean BMI was 36.8 ± 5.3 kg/m2. The patient characteristics were similar in both groups. The ICG angiography was successfully conducted in all patients, and no change of the surgical strategy was necessary. Postoperative complications were similar in both groups (6.2% vs. 8.3%, p = 0.846), as well as operative time (125 ± 43 vs. 133 ± 47 min, p = 0.454) and length of hospital stay (2.8 ± 1.0 vs. 3.3 ± 2.2 days, p = 0.213). Our study suggested that ICG fluorescence angiography might not have been useful for assessing the blood supply of the gastric pouch in patients who underwent reoperative bariatric surgery. Therefore, it remains uncertain whether the application of this technique is indicated.

Effectiveness of Multimodal imaging for the Evaluation of Retinal oedema And new vesseLs in Diabetic retinopathy (EMERALD).

INTRODUCTION: Diabetic macular oedema (DMO) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) are the major causes of sight loss in people with diabetes. Due to the increased prevalence of diabetes, the workload related to these complications is increasing making it difficult for Hospital Eye Services (HSE) to meet demands. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Effectiveness of Multimodal imaging for the Evaluation of Retinal oedema And new vesseLs in Diabetic retinopathy (EMERALD) is a prospective, case-referent, cross-sectional diagnostic study. It aims at determining the diagnostic performance, cost-effectiveness and acceptability of a new form of surveillance for people with stable DMO and/or PDR, which entails multimodal imaging and image review by an ophthalmic grader, using the current standard of care (evaluation of patients in clinic by an ophthalmologist) as the reference standard. If safe, cost-effective and acceptable, this pathway could help HES by freeing ophthalmologist time. The primary outcome of EMERALD is sensitivity of the new surveillance pathway in detecting active DMO/PDR. Secondary outcomes include specificity, agreement between new and the standard care pathway, positive and negative likelihood ratios, cost-effectiveness, acceptability, proportion of patients requiring subsequent full clinical assessment, unable to undergo imaging, with inadequate quality images or indeterminate findings. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval was obtained for this study from the Office for Research Ethics Committees Northern Ireland (reference 17/NI/0124). Study results will be published as a Health Technology Assessment monograph, in peer-reviewed national and international journals and presented at national/international conferences and to patient groups. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03490318 and ISRCTN:10856638.

Repeatability and Reproducibility of Quantitative Assessment of the Retinal Microvasculature Using Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Based on Optical Microangiography.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the repeatability and reproducibility of optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) based on optical microangiography (OMAG) measurements of macular vessels in normal eyes. METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, 40 eyes of 40 healthy volunteers underwent repeated OCTA (Cirrus HD-OCT 5000 angiography system, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc.) scans on two separate visit days. On each visit day, the eyes were scanned three times. The following parameters were used to quantitatively describe the OCTA images of the superficial vascular network: vessel area density (VAD), vessel skeleton density (VSD), vessel diameter index (VDI), vessel perimeter index (VPI), vessel complexity index (VCI), flux, and foveal avascular zone (FAZ). Coefficient of variation (CV) and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were calculated for evaluating intravisit and intervisit repeatability, as well as interobserver reproducibility. RESULTS: The measurements showed high repeatability [CVs ⪕ 4.2% (intravisit) and ⪕ 4.6% (intervisit)] and interobserver reproducibility (ICCs ⪖ 0.923) for all parameters. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated good repeatability and reproducibility of OCTA based on OMAG for the measurement of superficial vessel parameters in normal eyes.

Angiografia: segurança x economia / Angiography: safety x economy

OBJETIVO: Avaliar a segurança, eficiência e custos do exame angiofluoresceinográfico utilizando menor dosagem de contraste e aparelho digital com máquina de fotocópia a laser. MÉTODOS: Estudo prospectivo e comparativo entre um grupo de 70 pacientes que foi submetido à avaliação angiográfica com retinógrafo convencional, injetando-se 5 ml de fluoresceína sódica a 10 por cento (grupo controle), e um grupo de 70 pacientes que foi submetido à avaliação angiográfica com retinógrafo digital injetando-se 2 ml de fluoresceína a 10 por cento (grupo estudo). Pressão arterial, freqüência cardíaca e oximetria foram avaliadas antes e após a injeção de contraste. Reações orgânicas, relacionadas ao exame, foram notificadas. A qualidade das fotografias e os custos foram comparados entre as duas técnicas. RESULTADOS: Observou-se que os pacientes do grupo controle apresentaram maior aumento da pressão arterial sistólica e diastólica. Freqüência cardíaca, oximetria e reações adversas não demonstraram diferenças estatisticamente significativas entre os dois grupos. Quanto à qualidade das fotografias foi notado melhor desempenho no grupo controle. Quanto aos custos observou-se que o exame realizado no grupo estudo proporcionou economia de aproximadamente 54,8 por cento por exame em relação ao grupo controle. CONCLUSÃO: A realização do exame com menor dosagem de fluoresceína, utilizando equipamento digital com máquina de fotocópia a laser, proporcionou maior estabilidade da pressão arterial sistólica e diastólica, porém não exerceu influência sobre a freqüência cardíaca, oximetria e reações adversas como náusea, vômito, síncope e urticária. A qualidade das fotografias pode ser considerada inferior, porém possibilitou a realização de diagnóstico e orientação terapêutica para quem executou o exame. Economicamente apresentou geração de lucro de 66,26 por cento contra 25,81 por cento do equipamento convencional.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the safety, effectiveness, and cost of angiofluoresceinographic examination by using both the least amount of dye as well as digital equipment along with a laser photocopier. METHODS: Prospective and comparative study carried out in a group of 70 patients, who underwent an angiographic evaluation with a conventional retinographer injecting 5 ml sodium fluorescein at 10 percent (control group) as well as a group of 70 patients who underwent an angiographic evaluation with a digital retinographer injecting 2 ml fluorescein at 10 percent (study group). Arterial pressure, heart rate and oximetry were assessed prior to and after the dye injection. Organic reactions related to the examination were reported. Photograph quality as well as cost between the two techniques were compared. RESULTS: Control group patients showed a greater increase in systolic and diastolic arterial pressure. Heart rate, oximetry measurement and adverse reactions did not show any significant statistical differences between both groups. As for the quality of photographs, a better performance was noticed in the control group. As for the cost, the examination carried out in the study group required lower cost and thus saved around 54.8 percent per examination in relation to the control group. CONCLUSION: The examination carried out with a lower dose of fluorescein using digital equipment along with a laser photocopier provided greater stability in the systolic and diastolic arterial pressure. However, it did not have any influence on heart rate, oximetry or adverse reactions such as nausea, vomiting, syncope and rashes. The quality of photographs was poor although they enabled diagnosis as well as therapy follow-up for those who carried out the examination. Moreover, economically the above procedure represented a gain of 66.26 percent, against 25.81 percent in relation to the conventional equipment.

Conference on insulin pump therapy in diabetes. Multicenter study of effect on microvascular disease. Assessment of fluorescein angiograms.

Quantitation of the earliest changes in abnormal retinal morphology using fluorescein angiography is potentially superior to retinal photography. However, the critical importance of flawless technique, limitations in the size of the field available for detailed study, and observer variability constitute major disadvantages. A protocol describing standards of photography and of injection was developed. Methodology for counting microaneurysms (Ma) was developed at a central laboratory and applied in suitable photographs obtained at 0 (baseline), 4, and 8 mo in 68 patients. Counts of "definite" or "possible" Ma were made on films projected under standard conditions by two observers known to achieve consistently reproducible results. Semiquantitative assessment of diffusibility of fluorescein reflecting capillary leakage was performed in 61 patients. Leakage was graded according to three degrees of severity permitting study of observer variation, concordance of change in pairs of eyes, and treatment effects. The average number of Ma at baseline was slightly higher in the continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) group than in the conventional insulin treatment (CIT) group, but the difference was not statistically significant at the 0.05 level. At both 4 and 8 mo, definite Ma were more prevalent in the CSII group, and the difference was statistically significant at the 0.05 level using both parametric and nonparametric tests. In 27 CSII and 23 CIT patients having complete sets of 0, 4, and 8-mo photographs, Ma counts increased during the 0-4-mo interval. During the 4-8 mo interval, a further increase occurred in the CSII group but contrasted with a decrement observed in the CIT group, which showed no net change from baseline.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)