Vitrectomy with subretinal tissue plasminogen activator (r-TPA) and intravitreal injection of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) for submacular hemorrhages treatment: Retrospective analysis of 22 cases.

BACKGROUND: Macular hemorrhages are a severe complication of other retinal pathologies, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) or macroaneurysms. Their therapeutic approach is not standardized, and can vary from observation to surgical treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Retrospective analysis of 22 cases of macular hemorrhage, treated with vitrectomy associated to subretinal rTPA and intravitreal anti-VEGF over a period of 5 years. RESULTS: 22 eyes of 22 patients were included, of which 12 (52%) were women. The mean age at diagnosis was 84.4 years. 13 patients were pseudophakic (54.1%) and 19 (86.36%) had previous ophthalmological comorbidities. The etiology of the macular hemorrhage was AMD in 19 patients (86.36%). The mean of best VA corrected at diagnosis was 24.55 (Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study score -ETDRS), with a statistically significant improvement to 36.78 3 months after surgery (p = 0.011). With an average of 23.5 months of follow-up, no differences in prognosis associated with the etiology or size of the hemorrhage were observed. CONCLUSION: The treatment of macular hemorrhages by vitrectomy, subretinal rTPA and antiVEGF improves the visual prognosis of affected patients.

Vitrectomía asociada a activador tisular del plasminógeno (rTPA) subretiniano e inyección intravítrea de anti-VEGF como tratamiento de hemorragias submaculares: análisis retrospectivo de 22 casos / Vitrectomy with subretinal tissue plasminogen activator (r-TPA) and intravitreal injection of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) for submacular hemorrhages treatment: Retrospective analysis of 22 cases

Introducción: Las hemorragias maculares suponen una complicación severa de otras patologías retinianas, como la degeneración macular asociada a la edad (DMAE) o los macroaneurismas. El abordaje terapéutico de las mismas no se encuentra estandarizado, pudiendo variar desde la observación hasta el tratamiento quirúrgico.Material y métodosAnálisis retrospectivo de 22 casos de hemorragia macular, tratados mediante vitrectomías asociada a rTPA subretiniano y antiVEGF intravítreo durante un período de cinco años.ResultadosSe incluyeron 22 ojos de 22 pacientes, de los que 12 (52%) eran mujeres. La edad media al diagnóstico fue de 84,4 años. Del total de pacientes, 13 eran pseudofáquicos (54,1%) y 19 (86,36%) presentaban comorbilidades oftalmológicas previas. La etiología de las hemorragias maculares fue DMAE en 19 pacientes (86,36%). La media de mejor agudeza visual (AV) corregida al diagnóstico fue de 24,55 (puntuación Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study - ETDRS), con una mejoría estadísticamente significativa a 36,78 a los tres meses de la cirugía (p=0,011). Con un promedio de 23,5 meses de seguimiento, no se observaron diferencias en el pronóstico asociadas a etiología o tamaño de la hemorragia.ConclusiónEl tratamiento de las hemorragias maculares mediante vitrectomía, rTPA subretiniano y antiVEGF mejora el pronóstico visual de los pacientes afectos. (AU)

Background: Macular hemorrhages are a severe complication of other retinal pathologies, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) or macroaneurysms. Their therapeutic approach is not standardized, and can vary from observation to surgical treatment.Material and methodsRetrospective analysis of 22 cases of macular hemorrhage, treated with vitrectomy associated to subretinal rTPA and intravitreal anti-VEGF over a period of 5 years.Results22 eyes of 22 patients were included, of which 12 (52%) were women. The mean age at diagnosis was 84.4 years. 13 patients were pseudophakic (54.1%) and 19 (86.36%) had previous ophthalmological comorbidities. The etiology of the macular hemorrhage was AMD in 19 patients (86.36%). The mean of best VA corrected at diagnosis was 24.55 (Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study score -ETDRS), with a statistically significant improvement to 36.78 3 months after surgery (p = 0.011). With an average of 23.5 months of follow-up, no differences in prognosis associated with the etiology or size of the hemorrhage were observed.ConclusionThe treatment of macular hemorrhages by vitrectomy, subretinal rTPA and antiVEGF improves the visual prognosis of affected patients. (AU)

Macular optical coherence tomography for screening of pathology prior to cataract surgery: An approach based on tele-evaluation.

BACKGROUND: To assess the benefit of macular spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) as a part of the routinary preoperative study of patients undergoing cataract surgery. METHODS: A prospective single-center study study was performed. Consecutive patients with normal biomicroscopic funduscopy, moderate cataract and no history of ophthalmological pathologies were enrolled. All patients underwent macular SD-OCT. The obtained images were analysed by a general ophthalmologist and two retina specialists. Incidence of macular pathology and its relation to age and comorbidities were assessed. RESULTS: Eight-hundred and thirty-six eyes of 419 patients were enrolled in this study. All images were analysed telematically by a general ophthalmologist. Forty-nine eyes were excluded due to insufficient quality of the obtained images. Abnormal images were observed in 156 eyes (18.6%), including age-related macular degeneration in 68 (8.2%), epiretinal membrane (ERM) in 67 (8.0%), cystoid macular edema in 3 eyes (0.4%), among others. Diagnostics with severe impact on patient visual prognosis were observed in 16 eyes (3.82%) from 12 patients. The relationship between incidence of macular pathologies and age or comorbidities was not statistically significant. To assess accuracy of the first observer, images were subsequently analysed by two retinologists. The kappa index of concordance was 0.80 and 0.85. CONCLUSIONS: Implementing a systematic macular SD-OCT as a preoperative test prior to cataract surgery would improve quality of postoperative visual prognosis information. A general ophthalmologist would be suitable to screen for pathology through macular OCT images.

Infectious postoperative endophthalmitis after cataract surgery performed over 7 years. The role of azithromycin versus ciprofloxacin eye drops.

OBJECTIVE: Although topical antibiotics have been used as antimicrobial prophylaxis after ocular surgery, recent studies have determined that intracameral cefuroxime at the end of surgery significantly reduce the risk to suffer an infection and suggest that the use of topical antibiotics in the prophylaxis of infectious postoperative endophthalmitis (IPOE) is controversial. Moreover, there is no evidence to confirm the higher effectiveness of topical ciprofloxacin, considered the standard of care, or topical azithromycin in preventing IPOE of cataract surgeries. METHODS: IPOE topical prophylaxis was performed with two different strategies: with azithromycin from January 1st, 2010 to December 31st, 2014 (group I) and with ciprofloxacin from January 1st, 2015 to January 31st, 2017 (group II). Patient characteristics and clinical signs and symptoms of IPOE from all consecutive cataract surgeries performed over a 7-year period were collected. RESULTS: A total of 15,146 cataract surgeries were conducted; 10,756 in group I and 4,390 in group II. Two cases of IPOE in each group were diagnosed, showing a 0.019% and 0.046% rate respectively, with no statistically significance. IPOE cases were related with aging, systemic and ocular comorbidities or with a complicated cataract surgery. CONCLUSIONS: The benefit of the application of topical antibiotics after cataract surgery is questionable when intracameral cefuroxime prophylaxis is performed and no better effectiveness with ciprofloxacin or azithromycin was observed.