Risk factors in central retinal vein occlusion: A multi-center case-control study conducted on the Italian population : Demographic, environmental, systemic, and ocular factors that increase the risk for major thrombotic events in the retinal venous system.

PURPOSE: To explore the risk factors for central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) by comparing a large sample of patients with healthy controls. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Multi-center case-control study. The study group includes patients affected by central retinal vein occlusion, confirmed angiographically, aged 50 years old or above (Group A). The control group includes healthy subjects without an history of retinal vein occlusion (Group B). Outcome measures: age, gender, active smoking, presence of uncontrolled arterial hypertension (uHTN), presence of the following comorbidities: diabetes mellitus type II (DMII), chronic liver disease (CLD), chronic kidney disease (CKD), thyroid disease (TD), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), hyperhomocystenemia (HHcy), dyslipidemia (DLip), carotid artery disease (CAD), glaucoma, atrial fibrillation (AF), migraine headache (MH), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), history of myocardial infarction (MI). Odds-ratios were calculated with logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: A total of 203 patients (Group A) and 339 controls (Group B). Statistically-significant differences were found for the following variables: age (OR: 1.109 [1.081-1.138], p < .001), active smoking (OR: 2.048 [1.210- 3.466], p < .008), DMII (OR: 4.533 [2.097-9.803], p < .001), HHcy (OR: 4.507 [2.477-10.001 ], p < .001), DLip (OR: 2.255 [1.352-3.762], p = .002), CAD (OR: 6.632 [2.944- 14.942], p < .001), glaucoma (OR: 4.656 [2.031-10.673], < .001), OSAS (OR: 1.744 [1.023-2.975], < .041), uHTN (OR: 3.656 [2.247-5.949], < .001). No statistically-significant differences were found for the other variables. CONCLUSIONS: Older age, active smoking, as well as presence of DMII, HHcy, DLip, CAD, glaucoma, OSAS, and uHTN, all increase the risk for CRVO. A comprehensive assessment of patients with CRVO is paramount. Adequate control of all the aforementioned risk factors is likely of great significance in reducing the incidence of CRVO among the general population, and it likely plays an important role in improving the prognosis following the occlusive event.

Utility of Ocular Motility Tests in Orbital Floor Fractures with Muscle Entrapment That is Not Detected on Computed Tomography.

PURPOSE: Determine the usefulness of ocular motility testing to detect the presence of muscle entrapment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cross-sectional study of patients with symptoms of diplopia secondary to facial trauma. Inclusion criteria: age between 20 and 80 years; symptoms of diplopia following facial trauma; presence of orbital floor fracture confirmed radiologically; presence of muscle entrapment confirmed at the time of surgery; best-corrected visual acuity of 0.6 or more. Exclusion criteria: muscle entrapment visible on computed tomography; candidate for immediate surgical correction; prior history of strabismus surgery. Outcome measures: Abnormal Head Position (AHP), Hirschberg Corneal Reflexes (CR), Cover/Uncover and Alternating Cover Test, Hertel exophthalmometry, Near Point of Convergence (NPC), Kestenbaum Limbus test, Red Filter test, and Hess screen test. RESULTS: Forty-six subjects (38 males, 8 females, mean age 27 ± 3.3 SD years). Pre-operative assessment: forty-six (100%) reported diplopia on the Red Filter test and showed some degree of abnormality on the Hess Screen test. Forty-two (91%) showed AHP. Forty-one (89%) had exophthalmometry values that differed 2 mm or more between the two eyes and insufficient NPC. Thirty-two (69.6%) showed deficits of 3 mm or more on the Kestenbaum Limbus test. Sixteen (35%) had abnormal Hirschberg corneal reflexes. Eleven (24%) demonstrated constant or intermittent strabismus. CONCLUSION: Ocular motility testing can differentiate non-invasively, pre-operatively, and cost-effectively the presence of muscle entrapment even when this is not visible on computed tomography.

Efficacy and safety of intravitreal Fluocinolone Acetonide microimplant (ILUVIEN®) in patients with chronic diabetic macular edema: 1 year follow-up.

PURPOSE: Evaluate the efficacy and safety of intravitreal 0.19 mg fluocinolone acetonide (FAc) micro implant in patients with chronic diabetic macular edema (cDME). METHODS: Prospective study recruiting subjects with cDME. Inclusion criteria: cDME for at least 2 years documented with OCT imaging; pseudophakia; previous treatments with laser photocoagulation and intravitreal injections of anti-VEGF and/or dexamethasone. Exclusion criteria: phakia; ocular hypertension; tractional component visible on OCT; glaucoma; previous vitrectomy. Outcome measures included best-corrected visual acuity (BVCA), intraocular pressure (IOP), and central macular thickness (CMT), measured 1, 3, 6, and 12 months post-injection. Data were compared with the Friedman test and significance was set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: A total of 18 eyes with a median duration of cDME of 45 months (25-118 months). The 77% of subjects either maintained or improved their BVCA. About 17% and 33% of subjects showed an improvement of 15 ETDRS letters or more at 3 and 12 months respectively. The 17% and 28% of subjects showed a CMT <250 microns at 3 and 12 months, respectively. The median change in CMT thickness was of -370 and -373.5 microns at 3 and 12 months post-injection respectively (p-value is 0.025). Changes in median IOP at 3 and 12 months post-injection were not statistically significant (p-value is 0.210). Ocular hypertension (OHT) was detected in two eyes (11%). CONCLUSION: The FAc micro implant has proved efficacy in improving and/or maintaining BVCA in 77% of patients with cDME up to 12 months post-injection. Ocular hypertension is the most common side effect but responds well to topical therapy.

Effects of Repeated Intravitreal Injections of Dexamethasone Implants on Intraocular Pressure: A 4-Year Study.

PURPOSE: Dexamethasone and other corticosteroids are administered intravitreally to treat a variety of retinal diseases. As a side effect, they can alter intraocular pressure (IOP). The purpose of this study is to describe the incidence, severity, and management of ocular hypertension following the administration of multiple intravitreal injections of dexamethasone implants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 78 eyes of 78 subjects (males 62%; females 38%; mean age 67 ± 13 years SD) received a total of 152 intravitreal injections of 0.7 mg dexamethasone implants over 4 years. Indications included retinal vein occlusion (87%), diabetic macular edema (9%), wet-type age-related macular degeneration (4%). Ocular hypertension was defined as intraocular pressure above 23 mmHg or any pressure increase of 10 mmHg or more from baseline values. IOP was measured by applanation tonometry before the injection (T0), as well as one week (T1), one month (T2), and three months (T3) afterwards. RESULTS: Five percent (4/78) of subjects developed ocular hypertension after the 1st injection. On the second and third rounds, additional 7.2% (3/42) and 4.2% (1/24) of subjects developed the same side effect. Among the 8 subjects who received a fourth injection, none was found with OHT. Pressure elevations were detected at T2 and T3. In all patients, topical medical therapy was sufficient to lower the IOP below threshold. Mean pressure variations following the first injection as compared to previous recorded values were +0.97 mmHg (T1), +0.92 mmHg (T2), and -0.41 mmHg (T3) (p < 0.05). Mean pressure variations following the second injection were +0.54 mmHg (T1), +0.23 mmHg (T2) and -0.66 mmHg (T3) (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Ocular hypertension is a recognized side effect of intravitreal dexamethasone. Some patients develop it right after the first injection, while others develop it subsequently, on the 2nd or 3rd round. This side effect becomes most apparent 30-90 days following the implantation procedure and responds well to topical pressure-lowering medications.

Fascicular Visual Field Defects in Open-Angle Glaucoma: Evaluation with Microperimetry.

Purpose. Use of microperimetry (Mp-1), correlating with Humphrey perimetry (30-2 program), in patients affected by primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) with perimetric defects, in order to obtain an evaluation of the accuracy of the results obtained by Mp-1. Materials and Methods. In this study 40 eyes of 25 patients affected by POAG with perimetric defects were included. All patients underwent microperimetry test by Nidek Mp-1 (NAVIS software version 1.7.2, Nidek Technologies). Mean sensitivity values expressed in decibel (dB) of all tested dots and mean values for each quadrant obtained by microperimetric test were correlated with corresponding quadrants obtained by static perimetry analysis. Data were analyzed by Pearson's correlation and Bland-Altman analysis. Results. Interpolated data showed that mean sensitivity values in all spots tested by Mp-1 (11.98 dB, SD 4.31) may be significantly correlated with mean total values obtained by Humphrey 30-2 perimetry (17.95, SD 4.32), with correlation coefficient of 0.556. Conclusions. Topographic visualization of the perimetric alteration by microperimetry allows retesting areas with reduced sensitivity which are topographically visualized and displayable on the ocular fundus examination, avoiding worsening of the functional defect by better modulation of the antiglaucoma therapy and therefore it allows better monitoring of the pathologic functional damage.

Eye Motility Alterations in Retinitis Pigmentosa.

Purpose. We evaluated a sample of individuals with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) with the aim of assessing the presence or absence of ocular motility (OM) disorders. Materials and Methods. We included 23 out of the 25 individuals from the sample (9 females and 14 males) with an average visual acuity of 6/10. Results. The cover test about the vertical deviation in near distance showed an r/l in 3.45% and an l/r in 6.9%. The assessment of OM showed that 39.1% of the sample had a severe hyperfunction of the IO of the right eye and a severe hyperfunction (34.5%) of the SO of the left eye; 21.8% had a moderate hypofunction of right SO with a moderate percentage of hypofunction of 17.5% for the SO of the left eye; 30.5%, however, showed a serious hypofunction of the SR of both eyes; 21.7% of the sample showed a hyperfunction in both eyes of the IR. Conclusion. This alteration, however, is not attributable to either a high refractive defect (medium-low myopia: -1 diopter ±3 SD) or to a severely impaired binocular vision (visual acuity, motor fusion, and stereopsis are normal or within a range of values commonly accepted). Therefore, the disorders of OM lead to a genetic origin.

Utility of retinal thickness analyzer in early diagnosis of glaucomatous damage.

AIM: The utility of retinal thickness analysis (RTA) in the primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) early diagnosis and in the follow-up was evaluated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The nerve fibre layer thickness was analysed with the RTA by repeated examinations in POAG, ocular hypertension (OH) and healthy subjects (H). RESULTS: In the POAG group, a statistically significant reduction of mean retinal thickness (MRT) compared to the H group was evidenced both in the total area examined and in each of the four quadrants. The visual field evaluation classified the POAG group's visual fields in stage 1 and the OH group's visual fields in stage 0. CONCLUSION: RTA reveals a variation of mean retinal thickness, even before a functional and/or morphological optic nerve alteration appears. RTA is a complementary tool with the exams usually applied in the diagnosis of glaucoma, even though the information obtained is not specific for glaucoma.

Acute monolateral proptosis and orbital myositis in a patient with discoid lupus erythematosus: a case report.

INTRODUCTION: Discoid lupus erythematosus may lead to significant orbital inflammation syndrome. Ocular manifestations related to discoid lupus erythematosus are uncommon and few cases of eye inflammation are reported. CASE PRESENTATION: A 37-year-old Caucasian woman with 5-year history of discoid lupus erythematosus presented with exophthalmos, periorbital pain and blurred vision in her right eye. Orbital computed tomography and laboratory tests were performed. Computed tomography imaging revealed an enlargement of the right medial rectus muscle. Thyroid eye disease and orbital cellulites were excluded. Corticosteroid treatment completely resolved the symptoms. CONCLUSION: This is the first case of orbital myositis in a patient with discoid lupus erythematosus presenting with acute proptosis, diplopia and single extraocular muscle involvement.

Dorzolamide chlorhydrate versus acetazolamide in the management of chronic macular edema in patients with retinitis pigmentosa: description of three case reports.

AIMS: To assess the efficacy of topical dorzolamide for treating cystoid macular edema in patients with retinitis pigmentosa and minimize the secondary effects of maintenance therapy in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) who present with chronic microcystic macular edema. METHODS: To replace acetazolamide systemic treatment, with a topical treatment using 2% dorzolamide in three patients. The methods performed were OCT scan with a Spectralis HRA-OCT, for the measurement of macular thickness and morphology; best corrected visual acuity was assessed using Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS), was assessed slit-lamp biomicroscopy, ocular tonometry, fundus biomiocrosopy, and color fundus photography. This therapeutic protocol has been applied and described in three patients. RESULTS: In all three tested patients, following the administration of dorzolamide in eye drop, we observed a remarkable decrease in macular edema, almost comparable to that obtained with acetazolamide per os. CONCLUSION: The study confirms the anti-edematogenic effect of topical dorzolamide in RP with recurring macular cysts, as this can have a favorable response with topical dorzolamide. In all the three examined patients, the instillation of topical dorzolamide caused a remarkable reduction in their macular edema, as highlighted on OCT.

Acetazolamide-induced cilio-choroidal effusion after cataract surgery: unusual posterior involvement.

Idiosyncratic reactions to a large number of drugs have been reported to cause choroidal detachment and secondary angle-closure glaucoma (ACG). We report a case of bilateral acute ACG and peculiar choroidal effusion following administration of oral acetazolamide immediately after cataract surgery. Few cases of acute secondary ACG with choroidal effusion and anterior shift of the lens-iris diaphragm have been associated with acetazolamide compared with other sulfonamides. As far as we are aware, posterior involvement with retinal folds and papillary edema due to acetazolamide has not been described before.