Retinal burns from laser pointers: a risk in children with behavioural problems.

OBJECTIVE: To explore self-inflicted retinal burns from laser pointers in children. METHODS: Literature review of laser pointer retinal injuries in childhood and online survey of UK Consultant Ophthalmologists. A cohort of local children with self-inflicted injury is described. The matter is topical. We review progress in recent legislation and policy change in the UK. RESULTS: Four of 77 case reports of laser burns in childhood analysed reported psychological or behavioural issues. Three of four children in our cohort had such issues. Delay in diagnosis occurred in two of our patients. Structural retinal damage persisted for over 12 months in all four children (seven eyes). Our survey of UK ophthalmologists found 159 cases of injury (85% male), 80% under 20 years of age. The majority of the laser pointers were purchased online. Many patients (36%) suffered moderate vision loss (6/18 to 6/60 Snellen), while 17% (at least 11 patients) suffered severe vision loss (<6/60 Snellen). CONCLUSION: We highlight the risk of macular damage and vision loss from handheld lasers specifically in children with behavioural, learning or mental health issues. The diagnosis may be difficult or delayed in such children. In children with uncertain macular changes, ophthalmologists should explore the history for possible instances of exposure to handheld lasers pointers. Regulatory authorities and manufacturers of handheld lasers need to be aware of the risk to children. Furthermore, there is a need to better inform parents, carers and teachers of the risk of ocular self-injury from such lasers pointers.

Trabeculectomy training in England: are we safe at training? Two year surgical outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: To define the safety profile of trainee trabeculectomy surgery in the United Kingdom. Surgical exposure for trainees in England is limited due to service requirements, the European working time directive constraints and increasing sub-specialisation of glaucoma surgery. Limited knowledge exists on the outcomes of supervised glaucoma surgery. The aim is to determine the safety of supervised trabeculectomy surgery performed by trainee ophthalmologists. METHODS: Retrospective case note review of all patients that had trabeculectomy surgery with MMC by consultant and trainee surgeons across multiple UK centres. All eyes have 2-year follow up. Success was determined using WGA guidelines. Two-tailed p values were obtained using Fisher's exact test to ascertain statistical significance between groups. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: intraocular pressure, visual acuity, success and failure rates. RESULTS: 324 eyes were reviewed. 211 (66.4%) cases were performed by glaucoma consultants, 107(33.6%) by trainee ophthalmologists. The majority of eyes in each group were undergoing surgery for POAG. Post-operative IOP control showed no significant difference between consultant and trainee groups at year 1 and year 2. Success rates showed no significant difference between consultant and trainee cases. Failure rates at year 1 showed a significant difference between the two groups. No significant difference was seen at year 2. The trainee group had significantly more complications, when compared with the consultant group. Snellen visual acuity loss was not statistically significant between the two groups at the 2 year time point. CONCLUSIONS: The outcomes of supervised trainee trabeculectomy compare favourably with consultant cases after 2 year follow up. Trainee cases had higher complication rates than consultant cases. Bleb leaks are a common complication of trainee cases, where closer supervision may be required. There is potential for surgical simulation to help increase the success of such cases. These findings may encourage trainee participation in glaucoma surgery.

One-year result of XEN45 implant for glaucoma: efficacy, safety, and postoperative management.

PurposeTo report the efficacy, safety profile, and postoperative management of XEN45 implant at 12-month follow-up.Patients and methodsThis was a retrospective, non-randomised interventional case series involving patients who underwent XEN45 implantation by a single, experienced glaucoma specialist in a tertiary centre. Primary outcome measures were the intraocular pressure (IOP) and the number of medications at 1-year follow-up visit. Two IOP criteria were chosen to measure success: IOP ≤21 mm Hg and ≥20% reduction from baseline (criteria one); and IOP ≤15 mm Hg and ≥30% reduction from baseline (criteria two).ResultsAll 39 eyes completed 1-year follow-up. The mean preoperative IOP was 24.9±7.8 mm Hg on three drops, which reduced to 14.5±3.4 mm Hg at month 12 (P<0.005) on 0.7 drops (P<0.005). On the basis of criteria one, the cumulative probability of success at 1 year was 87.0% without medication and 92.0% with medication. On the basis of criteria two, cumulative probability of success was 62.0% without medication and 64.0% with medication. Bleb intervention with a median of 2 (range 1-4) was required for 51.3% of eyes. Implant was obstructed by iris tissue in three eyes (7.7%); one eye (2.6%) developed hyphaema; eight eyes (20.5%) had numerical hypotony (IOP≤5 mm Hg) at day 1, of which all spontaneously resolved by week 4 apart from one eye.ConclusionsThe XEN45 implant proved to be an effective treatment with a good safety profile at 1-year follow-up period. The high rate of postoperative bleb intervention does not make XEN45 a 'fit-and-forget' procedure and therefore the procedure should ideally be performed by surgeons experienced in bleb management.

Twelve-year analysis of microbial keratitis trends at a UK tertiary hospital.

PurposeTo investigate the frequencies, trends, and in vitro drug susceptibilities of the causative pathogens in microbial keratitis in Manchester Royal Eye Hospital.Patients and methodsCorneal scrape results recorded by the microbiology service between 2004 and 2015 were extracted from an established database. A total of 4229 corneal scrape specimens were identified from an established database. First-line antibiotic treatment in our centre during the study period was ofloxacin and second line was cefuroxime and gentamicin.ResultsMean age was 45.9±21.0. A total of 1379 samples (32.6%) were culture positive. One hundred forty-eight (10.7%) specimens cultured multiple organisms. Of the 1539 organisms identified, 63.3% were Gram-positive bacteria, 27.3% Gram-negative bacteria, 7.1% fungi, and 2.3% Acanthamoebae. A decreasing trend in Gram-positive isolates was found together with a stable trend in Gram negatives and an increasing trend in Acanthamoeba and fungi. There appeared to be a significant increasing trend of Moraxella infection (P=0.001). In all, 83.1 and 90.8% of Gram-positive and -negative isolates tested were susceptible to ofloxacin, respectively. Cefuroxime covered 86.6% of Gram-positive and 61.4% of Gram-negative isolates, whereas gentamicin covered 88.8 and 96.5% of Gram-positive and -negative isolates, respectively.ConclusionWe found a change in the type of Gram-negative organisms isolated over time, with the Moraxella species on the rise. Reassuringly, no significant increase in resistance was observed in vitro for any of the commonly used antibiotics. Ofloxacin remains a good first-line antibiotic treatment but duo-therapy does have broader coverage and should be considered in non-responsive cases.