Epidemiology and clinical outcomes of microbial keratitis in South East Nepal: a mixed-methods study.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the epidemiology of microbial keratitis in patients presenting to a tertiary eye hospital in South East Nepal alongside qualitative interviews exploring patient perspectives on barriers to accessing eye care services. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: All patients with microbial keratitis (>16 years) presenting to Sagarmatha Choudhary Eye Hospital, Nepal between 1 May 2017 and 31 July 2017 were recruited. Data were collected on patient demographics, precipitating factors and pathway to care. Clinical examination was performed and microbiological samples collected. Visual acuity was measured at final follow-up. Semistructured interviews and focus group discussions explored the patient journey and barriers to accessing care. RESULTS: We recruited 174 participants; 88 (51%) were male (mean age of 47 years) and 126 (72%) were farmers. Ocular trauma with vegetative matter was reported by 79 (45%) and 84 (48%) had fungal infections. Visual acuity was <3/60 in 107 (61%) of affected eyes at presentation, reducing to 73 (42%) at last follow-up. Factors associated with poor visual outcome were trauma with vegetative matter, delayed presentation and poor visual acuity at presentation. Qualitative interviews with 40 patients identified lack of awareness of the disease and available services, poor knowledge and practice of community health workers and lack of affordability and accessibility of treatment as important barriers. CONCLUSION: The epidemiology of microbial keratitis in this region was similar to other tropical regions. Patient interviews highlighted need for public health awareness campaigns on microbial keratitis, training of community health staff on the urgency of this condition and improvements in accessibility and affordability of ocular treatments.

Large choroidal melanoma presenting as neovascular glaucoma.

Choroidal melanoma is a relatively rare tumour with a poor prognosis, though it is the most common primary malignancy of the eye among adults. Choroidal melanoma has been reported to present as acute angle closure glaucoma, secondary glaucoma, chronic uveitis, cataract, and staphyloma. We report a case of a28-year-old male presenting with features of neovascular glaucoma in the right eye and having initially been treated with anti-glaucoma medications. However, ultrasonography revealed a mushroom-shaped, elevated, solid lesion with low to moderate internal reflectivity and regular internal structure suggestive of choroidal melanoma. Histopathological examination along with the immunohistochemistry studies of the lesion following enucleation of the eye confirmed the diagnosis of malignant choroidal melanoma. We highlight with this case that large choroidal melanoma may rarely present with features of neovascular glaucoma. The etiology of neovascular glaucoma should be investigated carefully and a potentially life-threatening intraocular tumour should be excluded, although it is a rare presentation.

Patterns of Macular Edema in Uveitis as Diagnosed by Optical Coherence Tomography in Tertiary Eye Center.

AIM: The aim of the study is to classify the patterns of uveitic macular edema using Optical Coherence Tomography as a diagnostic tool. METHODOLOGY: It is the Descriptive, cross-sectional study. All patients fulfilling the diagnostic criteria with Optical coherence tomography diagnosed macular edema were enrolled from 1 January 2012 to 30 June 2013. Patterns of uveitic macular edema were classified. RESULTS: A total of 65 eyes of 47 patients were included. Twenty eight (59.57%) were male. The male to female ratio was 1.5:1. The mean age was 38 years (SD 14.68). Twenty nine patients (61.71%) had unilateral involvement and 18 (38.29%) had bilateral involvement. Forty five eyes of 33 cases (69.23%, 70.21%) had intermediate uveitis, followed by 10 eyes of 7 cases (15.38, 14.9%) of posterior uveitis, 6 eyes of 5 cases (9.23%, 10.63 %) of anterior uveitis and 4 eyes of 2 cases (6.16%,4.2%) of pan-uveitis. Patterns of macular edema were classified: diff use macular edema (DME), cystoid macular edema (CME) and serous retinal detachment (SRD) of which 35 (53.84%) eyes had CME. The etiological diagnosis was found in 7(14.90 %) out of 47 patients. CONCLUSION: A significant percentage of cases were idiopathic. Macular edema may go unnoticed unless OCT is performed. Macular detachment is an important feature of macular edema that affects visual acuity and is not readily detected by Fundus Fluorescein Angiography (FFA). Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is safe and non-invasive technique and has the potential for measuring changes in retinal thickness and axial extent of edema.

Intraocular eyelashes and iris cyst in anterior chamber following penetrating eye injury: a case report.

BACKGROUND: The presence of intraocular eyelashes following penetrating eye injury or ocular surgery is relatively uncommon. The response of the eye to intraocular eyelashes is variable. The eyelash may be symptomatic or may remain asymptomatic for long periods. OBJECTIVE: We report a case with two intraocular eyelashes and an iris cyst after 2 years of asymptomatic period following penetrating eye injury. CASE PRESENTATION: A 24-year-old male presented with decreased vision in the left eye which he had noticed for the previous 2 weeks. His visual acuity was 6/6 in the right eye and 6/18 in the left eye, improving to 6/9 with -2.5 DC × 140° correction. The intraocular pressure was 12 mmHg in both eyes. On slit-lamp examination, the left eye showed 8 mm linear peripheral corneal opacity nasally, two eyelashes in the superior anterior chamber, and an iris cyst measuring 4 mm × 4 mm in the superior iris. The right eye was normal. Dilated fundus examination of both eyes was normal. The eyelashes and cyst were removed surgically. There were no complications during the 3-month follow-up period. CONCLUSION: Intraocular implantation of eyelashes following penetrating eye injury can remain asymptomatic for long periods; however, late development of iris cyst may occur.

Profile of paediatric low vision population: a retrospective study from Nepal.

BACKGROUND: Childhood blindness and low vision have become major public health problems in developing countries. The purpose of this study was to categorise the causes of visual impairment according to aetiology and provide detailed local information on visually impaired children seeking low-vision services in a tertiary eye centre in Nepal. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted of all visually impaired children (visual acuity of less than 6/18 in the better eye), aged less than 17 years seen in the low-vision clinic at the Sagarmatha Chaudhary Eye Hospital in Lahan between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2013. RESULTS: Of the 558 visually impaired children, the majority were males, 356 (63.7 per cent). More than half (56.5 per cent) of the children were in the 11 to 16 years age group. Many of the low-vision children (52.9 per cent) were identified as having moderate visual impairment (visual acuity less than 6/18 to 6/60). Most children were diagnosed with childhood (36.2 per cent) or genetic (35.5 per cent) aetiology, followed by prenatal (22.2 per cent) and perinatal (6.1 per cent) aetiologies. Refractive error and amblyopia (20.1 per cent), retinitis pigmentosa (14.9 per cent) and macular dystrophy (13.4 per cent) were the most common causes of paediatric visual impairment. Nystagmus (50.0 per cent) was the most common cause of low vision in the one to five years age group, whereas refractive error and amblyopia were the major causes in the six to 10 and 11 to 16 years age group (17.6 and 22.9 per cent, respectively). Many of the children (86.0 per cent) were prescribed low-vision aids and 72.0 per cent of the low-vision aid users showed an improvement in visual acuity either at distance or near. CONCLUSION: Paediatric low vision has a negative impact on the quality of life in children. Data from this study indicate that knowledge about the local characteristics and aetiological categorisation of the causes of low vision are essential in tackling paediatric visual impairment. The findings also signify the importance of early intervention to ensure a better quality of life.

Childhood corneal blindness: a retrospective study in a tertiary eye hospital of eastern region of Nepal.

INTRODUCTION: Studies from Nepal show that most of the cases of unilateral childhood blindness are due to corneal causes. It was also observed that these corneal causes were mostly preventable or treatable. OBJECTIVE: to study the patterns of corneal diseases in a pediatric out-patient department of a hospital in the eastern region of Nepal. METHODS: A retrospective study of the patients who presented to the pediatric department of our hospital in the year 2014 was done with the help of the data received from the hospital recording system. Detail examination of every case was done in the out-patient-department of the hospital by pediatric ophthalmologists. Patients with only corneal disease were included, and those with corneal disease along with other ocular disease were excluded from the study. RESULTS: Of 20,250 patients examined in the pediatric department over a one year period, 1911(9.4%) presented with isolated corneal problems. Keratitis and corneal ulcer were found in 47.8% of them. Corneal trauma was present in 5.6% and vitamin A deficiency leading to corneal opacity and keratomalacia was seen in 0.06% of the cases. Corneal blindness was observed in 66 eyes (bilateral in 3 cases). No case of trachoma or congenital corneal disease was observed. CONCLUSION: Childhood corneal blindness is mostly due to preventable and treatable causes.