Retinal Toxicity Assessment Following Vitreoretinal Surgery: A Comparison of Silicone Oil and Perfluoropropane Tamponade Using Diopsys® NOVA™.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to assess and compare the retinal toxicity associated with silicone oil (SO) and perfluoropropane (C3F8) tamponade following vitreoretinal surgery for fresh rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD), utilizing the office-based Diopsys® NOVA™ system for evaluation. METHODS: Patients who underwent vitreoretinal surgery for fresh RRD and had SO (group 1) or C3F8 (group 2) tamponade were included in a prospective analysis. Flicker full field electroretinography (ffERG) and pattern electroretinography (PERG) tests were performed at 6 months postoperatively. RESULTS: Postoperative best corrected visual acuity (logMAR) was significantly different in group 1 and group 2 patients, 0.48 ± 0.3 and 0.30 ± 0.2, respectively. No significant disparities were found in demographic variables. Flicker ffERG and PERG recordings revealed notable alterations in retinal function parameters in the group 1 compared to the group 2. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest a correlation between SO tamponade and retinal dysfunction, evidenced by office-based ERG measurements. The Diopsys® NOVA™ protocol offers clinical ease in assessing retinal function. Further controlled studies are essential to validate these findings and guide clinical practice effectively.

Evaluation of the effect of atorvastatin on corneal endothelial cells during the initial 12-month period after acute coronary syndrome.

PURPOSE: It was aimed to compare corneal endothelial changes during the initial 12-month period in which patients started using atorvastatin after a diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). METHODS: Forty-six participants (group 1) who underwent cardiac angioplasty and stenting for ACS and started using 80 mg atorvastatin in the early period were included in the study. In the study, a control group comprising 71 healthy adults (group 2) was included. These individuals did not use medication for any known systemic disease, had never taken statins, had no history of ocular surgery, and did not have any cornea-related eye diseases. Baseline and 12th month endothelial evaluations of group 1 and 2 participants were compared using specular microscopy. RESULTS: There were 28 female and 18 male participants in group 1 and 48 female and 23 male participants in group 2 (P = 0.455). The mean baseline corneal endothelial cell density (CECD) was not significantly higher in group 1 compared to group 2 (2471.4 ± 200 cells/mm2 vs 2428.2 ± 539.8 cells/mm2, P = 0.230). When the change between baseline and 12th month CECD was examined, the decrease in group 2 was significantly different from that in group 1 (-15,2 ± 31,9 and -44,8 ± 49,6, P = 0,002). Although the percentage of hexagonal cells decreased significantly in group 2 participants, no significant change was observed in group 1 (respectively; P < 0.001, P = 0.073). The endothelial cell coefficient of variation did not differ significantly in group 1 participants over a 1-year period (P = 0.192), and a significant increase was observed in group 2 (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This study revealed that atorvastatin may have a positive effect on corneal endothelium cell density and morphology.

Changes in retinal vascular density measured by optical coherence tomography angiography in patients with carotid artery stenosis after carotid artery stenting and angioplasty.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare the effect of carotid artery stenting and angioplasty (CASA) on retinal vascular density (VD) in patients with severe carotid stenosis with a healthy control group and to evaluate using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). METHODS: For this prospective study, eyes on the operated side constituted the ipsilateral eye group, and the other eye constituted the contralateral eye group. 40 eyes of 40 patients with ipsilateral eye of carotisid artery stenosis (CAS), 34 eyes on contralateral side, and 30 healthy eyes (control group) were included in this study. We performed quantitative OCTA analyses of retinal VD changes, before and after CASA. The main outcome measures were the quantitative changes of VD of superficial capillary plexus (SCP) and deep capillary plexus (DCP). RESULTS: We evaluated the VD of ipsilateral eyes and contralateral eyes separately before and after the procedure. All patients did not have visual symptoms. There was no significant difference in the VD of SCP in all groups before the procedure. No significant change was observed in all groups when the VD of the SCP was compared before and after the procedure. The VD of the DCP in the ipsilateral and contralateral group improved significantly after CASA. CONCLUSION: OCTA could noninvasively detect retinal VD improvements after CASA in CAS patients. Quantitative changes in VD evaluated using OCTA are thought to be early indicators in the diagnosis of CAS and in the follow-up of treatment success.