UVEITIS TREATED WITH DEXAMETHASONE IMPLANT.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the real-life efficacy and safety of the intravitreal dexamethasone implant in uveitis. METHODS: This retrospective observational multicentric study included 152 eyes treated exclusively by 358 dexamethasone implant injections. The main outcome measures included change in the best-corrected visual acuity, central macular thickness, and vitreous haze score. RESULTS: Patients were treated with dexamethasone implant for macular edema (51.3%), vitritis with macular edema (40.1%), vitritis (5.3%), and other causes (3.3%). The mean duration of follow-up was 19.0 months. The mean gain in best-corrected visual acuity during follow-up was +12.1 letters. An improvement in best-corrected visual acuity ≥5, 10, and 15 letters was found in 64.5, 50.7, and 35.5% of cases, respectively. 59.7% of eyes with macular edema at baseline were found to be anatomical responders. Vitritis resolution (vitreous haze = 0+) was obtained in 81.4% of cases. Ocular hypertension (intraocular pressure ≥25 mmHg and/or gain ≥10 mmHg from baseline) occurred in 28.3% of patients. No filtering surgery/laser therapy was required. A total of 40.2% of phakic subjects underwent cataract surgery on average 11.2 months after the first injection. CONCLUSION: This study confirms the efficacy and safety of the dexamethasone implant in noninfectious uveitis. Cataract and ocular hypertension were not uncommon but easily manageable.

Ocular sequelae of epidermal necrolysis: French national audit of practices, literature review and proposed management.

Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are serious and rare diseases, most often drug-induced, and their incidence has been estimated at 6 cases/million/year in France. SJS and TEN belong to the same spectrum of disease known as epidermal necrolysis (EN). They are characterized by more or less extensive epidermal detachment, associated with mucous membrane involvement, and may be complicated during the acute phase by fatal multiorgan failure. SJS and TEN can lead to severe ophthalmologic sequelae. There are no recommendations for ocular management during the chronic phase. We conducted a national audit of current practice in the 11 sites of the French reference center for toxic bullous dermatoses and a review of the literature to establish therapeutic consensus guidelines. Ophthalmologists and dermatologists from the French reference center for epidermal necrolysis were asked to complete a questionnaire on management practices in the chronic phase of SJS/TEN. The survey focused on the presence of a referent ophthalmologist at the center, the use of local treatments (artificial tears, corticosteroid eye drops, antibiotic-corticosteroids, antiseptics, vitamin A ointment (VA), cyclosporine, tacrolimus), the management of trichiatic eyelashes, meibomian dysfunction, symblepharons, and corneal neovascularization, as well as the contactologic solutions implemented. Eleven ophthalmologists and 9 dermatologists from 9 of the 11 centers responded to the questionnaire. Based on questionnaire results, 10/11 ophthalmologists systematically prescribed preservative-free artificial tears, and 11/11 administered VA. Antiseptic or antibiotic eye drops or antibiotic-corticosteroid eye drops were recommended as needed by 8/11 and 7/11 ophthalmologists, respectively. In case of chronic inflammation, topical cyclosporine was consistently proposed by 11/11 ophthalmologists. The removal of trichiatic eyelashes was mainly performed by 10/11 ophthalmologists. Patients were referred to a reference center for fitting of scleral lenses (10/10,100%). Based on this practice audit and literature review, we propose an evaluation form to facilitate ophthalmic data collection in the chronic phase of EN and we also propose an algorithm for the ophthalmologic management of ocular sequelae.

Ocular Inflammation Induced by Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.

Ocular immunotherapy-related adverse events (IRAEs), although rare, can be sight-threatening. Our objective was to analyze ocular IRAEs diagnosed in France from the marketing of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICPIs) until June 2021 and to review the literature. We collected the cases of 28 patients (36 ocular IRAEs), occurring after an average of 17 weeks (±19). Forty-six percent of patients were treated for metastatic melanoma. Anti-PD1 agents were responsible for 57% of the IRAEs. Anterior uveitis was the most common (44%), followed by panuveitis (28%). Of 25 uveitis cases, 80% were bilateral and 60% were granulomatous. We found one case with complete Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome and one case of birdshot retinochoroidopathy. The other IRAEs were eight ocular surface disorders, one optic neuropathy, and one inflammatory orbitopathy. Seventy percent of the IRAEs were grade 3 according to the common terminology of AEs. ICPIs were discontinued in 60% of patients and 50% received local corticosteroids alone. The literature review included 230 uveitis cases, of which 7% were granulomatous. The distributions of ICPIs, cancer, and type of uveitis were similar to our cohort. Ocular IRAEs appeared to be easily controlled by local or systemic corticosteroids and did not require routine discontinuation of ICPIs. Further work is still warranted to define the optimal management of ocular IRAEs.

Efficacy and Safety of Interferon Alpha 2A and Pegylated Interferon Alpha 2A in Inflammatory Macular Edema.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to further explore the efficacy and safety of interferon-α in refractory non-infectious inflammatory macular edema and to compare interferon-α2a and pegylated interferon-α2b.Methods: 34 patients with refractory non-infectious uveitic macular edemaunder interferon-α were retrospectively reviewed.Results: Mean baseline best-corrected visual acuityimproved from 0.55 logMar to 0.37 logMAR (P < 0.001) at month (M) 1 and 0.40 logMAR (P < 0.001) at M6. The mean baseline CMT decreased from 554 µm to 367 µm (P < 0.001) at M1 and 394 µm (P < 0.001) at M6. Clinical adverse effects (AEs) were observed in a third of patients, leading to treatment discontinuation because of frequent mild AEs and few severe AE. No statistically significant difference was found between both molecules.Conclusions: Anatomically and functionally, interferon-α was rapidly effective despite a low dosage regimen and no difference in efficacy and tolerance was observed between interferon-α2a and pegylated interferon-α2b.