Humanitarian missions and visual outcomes in cataract surgery: A literature review.

The limited accessibility to ophthalmological services in remote regions of developing countries poses a significant challenge in visual healthcare. Cataracts and refractive errors are prominent causes of visual impairment, and surgery, despite being an efficient option, faces barriers in developing countries due to financial and geographical constraints. Humanitarian missions play a vital role in addressing this issue. The improvement in the accuracy of calculating IOL power through techniques such as keratometry and biometry is a fundamental step towards optimizing surgical outcomes and the quality of life for patients in these underserved regions. In this context, the consideration of keratometry and immersion ultrasound biometry as preoperative assessment standards in cataract surgeries in developing countries is presented as a pertinent and advisable strategy.

Logistics description of a high yield cataract surgery non-profitable expedition.

PURPOSE: To describe the logistics and methodology of a high yield surgical non-profitable campaign. METHODS: A descriptive study based on previous non-profitable campaigns dedicated to cataract surgery. RESULTS: The method is based on planification, finance acquisition, volunteer support, foreign affairs with the collaborating country where the surgeries are going to be performed, team organization, and overall, summoning all the stated items to materialize a global humanitarian campaign to eradicate cataracts by clinical and surgical procedures. CONCLUSIONS: Blindness due to cataracts can be over-ruled. We consider that through our planification and methodology, other organizations may acquire some knowledge to improve their methodology and carry out similar volunteering surgical campaigns. Planification, coordination, financial aid, determination, and a strong will power are altogether compulsory for a successful non-profitable surgical campaign.

Evaluación de la eficacia y seguridad del diodo láser micropulsado en el tratamiento de glaucoma: un año de seguimiento / Assessment of efficacy and safety of micropulse diode laser treatment in glaucoma: One year follow-up

OBJETIVO: Determinar la eficacia y seguridad de la técnica de micropulso transescleral para disminuir la presión intraocular en pacientes con glaucoma. MATERIALES Y MÉTODOS: Se realizó, entre octubre de 2016 y diciembre de 2018, un estudio de cohorte retrospectiva en pacientes con diferentes subtipos de glaucoma. Se analizaron datos sobre las características demográficas preoperatorias, los procedimientos quirúrgicos previos y los resultados postoperatorios. Se recolectó información sobre complicaciones intra- y postoperatorias, presión intraocular, agudeza visual, necesidad de retratamiento con micropulso, de cirugía incisional de glaucoma o de incrementar la medicación. Se aplicó un modelo de regresión logística y de Cox para determinar los predictores de fracaso terapéutico, además de construir curvas de Kaplan-Meier. RESULTADOS: Se incluyeron 143 ojos, con una media de seguimiento de 268 días, de los cuales 90 (63%) completaron un año de seguimiento. El procedimiento micropulsado logró un descenso medio de la presión intraocular para cualquier tipo de glaucoma de 7,3 mmHg (excluyendo glaucoma neovascular). El porcentaje de pacientes que alcanzó una presión intraocular menor de 20 mmHg a las 24 h fue el 78%, el 80% a los 3 meses, el 77% a los 6 meses y el 78% a los 12 meses. Durante el seguimiento, un 29,6% de los pacientes requirió un tratamiento adicional o un incremento de la medicación. Solo 2 pacientes presentaron mínimas complicaciones postoperatorias. CONCLUSIÓN: La técnica micropulsada es un tratamiento seguro y eficaz para el glaucoma porque logra una reducción de la presión intraocular o una menor necesidad de medicamentos antihipertensivos a un año de seguimiento

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness and safety of the micropulse transscleral technique in lowering intraocular pressure in patients with glaucoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 143 eyes with various glaucoma subtypes between October 2016 and December 2018. Patients were grouped for analysis based on glaucoma subtypes, preoperative demographics, previous surgical procedures, and postoperative results. The data collected was based on intra- and post-operative complications, intraocular pressure, visual acuity, the need of micropulse re-treatment, incisional glaucoma surgery, and increasing the dose/quantity of medications. A logistic and Cox regression model was performed to determine predictors of therapeutic failure, in addition to building Kaplan-Meier curves. RESULTS: The mean follow-up was 268 days, and 63% of the patients completed one year. The micropulse procedure achieved a mean intraocular pressure decline of 7.3 mmHg (excluding neovascular glaucoma), independent of the glaucoma subtype. The percentage of patients who achieved intraocular pressure less than 20 mmHg at 24 h was 78%, with 80% at 3 months, 77% at 6 months, and 78% at 12 months. During the follow-up, 29.6% of the patients required additional treatment or a dose increase. Only 2 patients presented with minimal postoperative complications. CONCLUSION: The treatment with transscleral micropulse is a safe and efficient technique for use in glaucoma, attaining a reduction in intraocular pressure and decrease in need of antihypertensive medications within the first year following the procedure

Assessment of efficacy and safety of micropulse diode laser treatment in glaucoma: One year follow-up. / Evaluación de la eficacia y seguridad del diodo láser micropulsado en el tratamiento de glaucoma: un año de seguimiento.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness and safety of the micropulse transscleral technique in lowering intraocular pressure in patients with glaucoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 143 eyes with various glaucoma subtypes between October 2016 and December 2018. Patients were grouped for analysis based on glaucoma subtypes, preoperative demographics, previous surgical procedures, and postoperative results. The data collected was based on intra- and post-operative complications, intraocular pressure, visual acuity, the need of micropulse re-treatment, incisional glaucoma surgery, and increasing the dose/quantity of medications. A logistic and Cox regression model was performed to determine predictors of therapeutic failure, in addition to building Kaplan-Meier curves. RESULTS: The mean follow-up was 268 days, and 63% of the patients completed one year. The micropulse procedure achieved a mean intraocular pressure decline of 7.3mmHg (excluding neovascular glaucoma), independent of the glaucoma subtype. The percentage of patients who achieved intraocular pressure less than 20mmHg at 24h was 78%, with 80% at 3 months, 77% at 6 months, and 78% at 12 months. During the follow-up, 29.6% of the patients required additional treatment or a dose increase. Only 2patients presented with minimal postoperative complications. CONCLUSION: The treatment with transscleral micropulse is a safe and efficient technique for use in glaucoma, attaining a reduction in intraocular pressure and decrease in need of antihypertensive medications within the first year following the procedure.