OPHTHALMOLOGICA

BETTER PREOPERATIVE VISION MEANS BETTER VISUAL OUTCOMES AFTER ILM PEELING

Better preoperative best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) is predictive of better postoperative BCVA after pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) with internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling for idiopathic epiretinal membrane (ERM), a review of the outcomes in 80 patients suggests. A linear regression analysis of the patients’ baseline clinical characteristics, optical coherence tomography (OCT) characteristics and three-month postoperative BCVA showed that only preoperative BCVA was an independent determinant of postoperative BCVA (r = 0.31; p < 0.01) and BCVA difference (r = 0.68; p < 0.01).

KG Laban et al, “Prognostic factors associated with visual outcome after pars plana vitrectomy with internal limiting membrane peeling for idiopathic epiretinal membrane”, Ophthalmologica 2015; 234:119-126.

THE MORE OXYGEN REQUIRED, THE GREATER THE RISK FOR SEVERE ROP

Longer duration and greater intensity of oxygen supplementation required in premature infants are strongly associated with severe retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), a new study indicates. In a review of the clinical records of 143 newborn infants with a gestational age of 32 weeks or less, a univariate analysis showed a significant association between severe ROP and gestational age, birth weight, duration of oxygen supplementation, duration of directional positive air pressure and maximum fraction of inspiratory oxygen (FiO2). A multivariate analysis similarly showed a significant association between severe ROP and a longer duration of oxygen supplementation and a higher maximum FiO2.

H Enomoto et al, “Evaluation of oxygen supplementation status as a risk factor associated with the development of severe retinopathy of prematurity”, Ophthalmologica 2015; 234:135-138.

BETTER VISION AND BETTER HELP MAKE AN IMPROVED LIFE FOR EXUDATIVE AMD PATIENTS

The main predictors of quality of life (QoL) in exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) patients treated with ranibizumab are visual acuity (VA) outcomes and the quality of the home healthcare and social services patients receive, a new survey suggests. The study involved 416 patients with a mean age of 78.0 years with exudative AMD who had at least one intravitreal injection of ranibizumab within the last six months. They provided responses to the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ-25). In a bivariate analysis, with long-term illness status, worse vision and higher number of unpaid aids were risk factors for worse QoL, with odds ratios of 2.4, 5.2 and 11.6, respectively.

 E Matamoros et al, “Quality of life in patients suffering from active exudative age-related macular degeneration: The EQUADE Study”, Ophthalmologica 2015; 234: 151-159.