Deposition keratopathy.

Material can be deposited in the cornea as a result of a wide range of systemic and ophthalmic diseases, as well as local and systemic therapies. Causes include local infection or trauma, systemic malignancy, a wide range of medications and a host of genetic and metabolic diseases. Some of these can be acutely life threatening, so generalists caring for both children and adults should have a basic awareness of the pattern and distribution of corneal deposits to facilitate timely diagnosis, investigation, management or onward referral to avoid significant morbidity or mortality. This article outlines causes of corneal deposits found in patients presenting to primary care, ophthalmic clinics or encountered on the wards to help generalists avoid missing serious pathology. It also provides insight into the natural history of underlying causative conditions and their possible treatments.

Acquired nystagmus.

Nystagmus is the repetitive to and fro movement of the eyes, which may be physiological or pathological. The movements can be horizontal, vertical, torsional or a combination of these movements. It starts by a slow movement of the eye away from the visual target. The second movement brings the eye back to the visual target. If this second movement is quick, the nystagmus is called jerk nystagmus. If the second movement is slow, the nystagmus is said to be pendular. Maintaining steady gaze is dependent upon visual fixation, the vestibulo-ocular reflex and the gaze-holding neural integrator system. Pathological nystagmus typically presents with the symptom of oscillopsia, which is the illusory movement of the surrounding environment. Nystagmus that develops outside of early infancy is termed acquired nystagmus. There may be serious underlying pathology that will require further investigation and management. This article reviews the terminology, pathophysiology, causes and treatment of acquired nystagmus.

Intravitreal aflibercept for diabetic macular oedema: Moorfields' real-world 12-month visual acuity and anatomical outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: To assess structural and functional outcomes of treatment with intravitreal aflibercept (Eylea®) for diabetic macular oedema in treatment-naive patients. DESIGN: This is a retrospective, real-life, cohort study. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: In all, 92 diabetic patients (102 eyes) receiving intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy were included. A total of 99 aflibercept-treated eyes were included in the statistical analysis. Each patient had corrected visual acuity in Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study letters and optical coherence tomography central foveal thickness and macular volume performed at baseline and 12 months. Patients were initiated on a loading phase of five monthly intravitreal aflibercept injections, followed by injections if needed as per clinicians' discretion. RESULTS: The mean number of aflibercept injections received was 6.92. At baseline, the mean visual acuity (standard deviation; Snellen) was 59.7 (16.1) (20/63) Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study letters, the mean central foveal thickness (standard deviation) was 431 (129) µm, while the mean macular volume (standard deviation) was 9.53 (1.79) mm3. At 12 months, the mean visual acuity (standard deviation; Snellen) was 69.6 (15.2; 20/40) Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study letters (p < .0001). Mean central foveal thickness (standard deviation) was 306 (122) µm (p < .0001) and mean macular volume (standard deviation) was 8.43 (1.58) mm3 (p < .0001) at 12 months; 33 (33.67%) eyes gained ⩾15 Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study letters at month 12, and 50 (55.55%) eyes had a decrease in central foveal thickness of ⩾100 µm. CONCLUSION: There was a significant improvement in visual acuity and in anatomical outcomes in aflibercept-treated eyes at 12 months after commencing treatment for diabetic macular oedema in real-life settings.

The Uveitis Patient Passport: A Self-Care Tool.

Purpose: Patient self-care tools can improve patient outcomes in chronic disease. In uveitis, there is an unmet need for the innovative Uveitis Patient Passport (UPP). This study aims to evaluate the success of the passport's introduction into a tertiary uveitis service through patient experience.Methods: The UPP, created in consultation with patients and the multidisciplinary team, was evaluated using a patient questionnaire and mixed quantitative and qualitative methodology.Results: Key themes emerged, with the passport used by participants as a self-care resource and an aid for cross-specialty communication. Patient involvement in evaluation identified key areas for passport development in line with patient needs. These included improving clinician engagement and future transference into a smartphone application.Conclusion: The introduction of the first UPP was a success, especially as a self-care tool for supporting patients in managing their uveitis with the potential to improve patient outcomes.

Barriers to adoption of a personal health record in an ophthalmic setting: lessons from implementation of a Glaucoma Patient Passport.

PURPOSE: Self-care in chronic disease is increasingly important. In glaucoma services, there is an unmet need for a self-care tool such as a patient passport. This study aims to evaluate adoption of a new self-care tool, the Glaucoma Patient Passport (GPP) within a tertiary hospital glaucoma service. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The GPP was designed following consultation exercises between patients and clinicians at the first and second UK National Glaucoma Think Tanks. A patient questionnaire, comprising a mixed methods quantitative and qualitative research approach was used to explore the utility of GPP, patient attitude to GPP and barriers to adoption, 6 months after GPP receipt. RESULTS: GPP feedback was received from 62 patients. On-going utilization of the GPP after receipt was high, at 84%, with patients most commonly using the GPP at home, to "look for information." Seventy-three percent reported improved knowledge of glaucoma care since using the GPP, with two-thirds (63%) reporting that the GPP had improved their glaucoma care. Three main themes were identified in exploring barriers to GPP adoption; clinician involvement in GPP use, GPP size, and GPP use in visual impairment. CONCLUSION: Implementation and adoption of the world's first GPP were a success. GPP utility was high and patient attitudes were predominantly positive, with improved self-care. However, several areas were identified for future GPP improvement. The GPP has the potential to improve patient self-care in glaucoma, bridging the care gap created by the increased workload in glaucoma services.

The UK Paediatric Ocular Trauma Study 3 (POTS3): clinical features and initial management of injuries.

PURPOSE: Worldwide, as many as 6 million children annually sustain ocular trauma, with up to a quarter of a million children requiring hospitalization. Management of pediatric ocular trauma differs from that in adults, both in terms of initial assessment and acute intervention, with significant variation in practice between different centers. Patterns of healing and long-term outcomes are also very different for children compared to adults. In order to develop effective protocols for management, it is first necessary to understand current trends in presentation and treatment. METHODS: We conducted a prospective, observational study of pediatric ocular trauma presenting to UK-based ophthalmologists over a one-year period; reporting cards were distributed by the British Ophthalmic Surveillance Unit, and clinicians were asked to report cases of acute orbital and ocular trauma in children aged 16 years or less requiring inpatient or day-case admission. A validated, standardized questionnaire was sent to reporting ophthalmologists to collect data on clinical features and initial management of injury. RESULTS: Eighty-six episodes of pediatric ocular trauma were reported. Trauma involving the globe was reported in 66/86 patients (76.7%), of which 40/66 (60.1%) were open-globe. Trauma to the anterior segment was reported in 57/86 (66.3%), and posterior segment in 23/86 patients (26.7%). Twenty-five of 86 (29.1%) patients sustained severe trauma defined as having best-corrected visual acuity worse than 6/60 Snellen (incidence 0.19 per 100,000 population). CONCLUSIONS: There has been no improvement in the incidence or severity of pediatric ocular injury rates over the past 25 years. Eye-care providers must be able to provide the necessary services for assessment and management of severe pediatric ocular trauma in the emergency setting.

A comparison of deep learning performance against health-care professionals in detecting diseases from medical imaging: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Deep learning offers considerable promise for medical diagnostics. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of deep learning algorithms versus health-care professionals in classifying diseases using medical imaging. METHODS: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched Ovid-MEDLINE, Embase, Science Citation Index, and Conference Proceedings Citation Index for studies published from Jan 1, 2012, to June 6, 2019. Studies comparing the diagnostic performance of deep learning models and health-care professionals based on medical imaging, for any disease, were included. We excluded studies that used medical waveform data graphics material or investigated the accuracy of image segmentation rather than disease classification. We extracted binary diagnostic accuracy data and constructed contingency tables to derive the outcomes of interest: sensitivity and specificity. Studies undertaking an out-of-sample external validation were included in a meta-analysis, using a unified hierarchical model. This study is registered with PROSPERO, CRD42018091176. FINDINGS: Our search identified 31 587 studies, of which 82 (describing 147 patient cohorts) were included. 69 studies provided enough data to construct contingency tables, enabling calculation of test accuracy, with sensitivity ranging from 9·7% to 100·0% (mean 79·1%, SD 0·2) and specificity ranging from 38·9% to 100·0% (mean 88·3%, SD 0·1). An out-of-sample external validation was done in 25 studies, of which 14 made the comparison between deep learning models and health-care professionals in the same sample. Comparison of the performance between health-care professionals in these 14 studies, when restricting the analysis to the contingency table for each study reporting the highest accuracy, found a pooled sensitivity of 87·0% (95% CI 83·0-90·2) for deep learning models and 86·4% (79·9-91·0) for health-care professionals, and a pooled specificity of 92·5% (95% CI 85·1-96·4) for deep learning models and 90·5% (80·6-95·7) for health-care professionals. INTERPRETATION: Our review found the diagnostic performance of deep learning models to be equivalent to that of health-care professionals. However, a major finding of the review is that few studies presented externally validated results or compared the performance of deep learning models and health-care professionals using the same sample. Additionally, poor reporting is prevalent in deep learning studies, which limits reliable interpretation of the reported diagnostic accuracy. New reporting standards that address specific challenges of deep learning could improve future studies, enabling greater confidence in the results of future evaluations of this promising technology. FUNDING: None.

Effect of glycosylated hemoglobin on response to ranibizumab therapy in diabetic macular edema: real-world outcomes in 312 patients.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of serum glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) on the outcomes of ranibizumab therapy for diabetic macular edema (DME). DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. PARTICIPANTS: Patients receiving ranibizumab injections for centre-involving DME in a National Health Service setting. METHODS: The Moorfields OpenEyes database was used to study eyes with DME treated with ranibizumab from October 2013 to November 2015 at the Moorfields City Road, Ealing, Northwick Park, and St George's Hospital sites. Only eyes receiving a minimum of 3 injections and completing 12 months of follow-up were included. If both eyes received treatment, the first eye treated was analyzed. When both eyes received initial treatment simultaneously, random number tables were used to select the eye for analysis. HbA1c was tested at the initiation of ranibizumab treatment. Multivariate regression analysis was used to identify relationships between HbA1c and the outcome measures. OUTCOMES: The primary outcome was change in visual acuity (VA) Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy study (ETDRS) letters. The secondary outcomes were change in central subfield thickness (CSFT) and macular volume (MV), as well as number of injections in year 1. RESULTS: Three hundred and twelve eyes of 312 patients were included in the analysis. HbA1c was not related to change in VA (p = 0.577), change in CSFT (p = 0.099), change in MV (p = 0.082), or number of injections in year 1 (p = 0.859). CONCLUSIONS: HbA1c is not related to functional or anatomical outcomes at 1 year in DME treated with ranibizumab.

Severe Intraocular Pressure Elevation After Intracameral Healon 5 Viscoelastic Support for Postoperative Hypotony After XEN Gel Stent Insertion.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this article was to describe (i) a novel case of severe intraocular pressure (IOP) elevation due to intracameral Healon 5 for management of early postoperative (post-op) hypotony following XEN Gel Stent insertion and (ii) the management of this complication. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A case report. RESULTS: A 52-year-old man, with primary open-angle glaucoma and suboptimal left IOP control on maximally tolerated medical therapy, was managed with XEN Gel Stent insertion at another tertiary eye unit. Post-op, the IOP was 2 mm Hg with a shallow anterior chamber (AC) and choroidal effusions. Intracameral injections of Provisc on post-op days 1 and 3 failed to reverse hypotony. At 1 week post-op, persistent clinically significant hypotony was managed with Healon 5 injection into the AC. Twelve hours later, the patient experienced significant pain and reduced vision and presented to a different tertiary eye unit, where left visual acuity was hand movements, IOP was 70 mm Hg with a deep AC (complete ophthalmic viscosurgical device fill with Healon 5) and a flat drainage bleb with no external drainage. Emergency AC washout of the Healon 5 was performed with resolution of symptoms, visual acuity, and IOP control. CONCLUSIONS: We caution against the use of intracameral Healon 5 in the management of post-op hypotony following XEN Gel Stent insertion, given the potential risk for extreme IOP elevation and sight loss.