Faculty Bibliography

A 79-year-old man presented with a symptomatic, full-thickness macular hole with concurrent vitreomacular traction (VMT), stage 2. The patient was treated with a single injection of ocriplasmin. Within 1 week, the macular hole had closed, but there was persistence of vitreomacular traction. Two months after injection, the VMT released with sustained closure of the macular hole. The temporal course of macular hole closure antecedent to VMA release runs contrary to our current understanding of macular hole closure and warrants further research to decipher the mechanism by which ocriplasmin achieves its intended effect.

PURPOSE: To determine provider compliance with hydroxychloroquine screening following the revised recommendations published in 2011 by the American Academy of Ophthalmology. DESIGN: Evaluation of adherence to a screening protocol. METHODS: Subjects were identified with hydroxychloroquine as a medication by electronic query at a large multispecialty ophthalmic practice. Patients were excluded if patients: (1) were screened by an outside physician; (2) lacked recorded height, weight, start date, or dosing; or (3) took hydroxychloroquine for malaria prophylaxis. Screening tests were stratified by ophthalmic subspecialty. Guidelines define proper screening as 1 subjective test-Humphrey visual field (HVF), and 1 objective test-spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD OCT), fundus autofluorescence (FAF), or multifocal electroretinography (mfERG). Adherence to guidelines was determined by categorizing practices as: (1) "appropriate"-consistent with guidelines; (2) "underscreened"-insufficient testing; or (3) "inappropriate"-no testing. RESULTS: The study comprised 756 patients with a mean age of 56 years undergoing 1294 screening visits. Twenty-one patients received initial screenings outside the institution. Most common screening tests employed included SD OCT (56.6%), 10-2 HVF (55.0%), and Amsler grid (40.0%). Of the 735 initial screenings, 341 (46.4%) were appropriately screened, 204 (27.8%) underscreened, and 190 (25.9%) inappropriately screened. Of those who presented solely for screening (560), 307 (54.8%) were appropriately screened, 144 (25.7%) underscreened, and 109 (19.5%) inappropriately screened. CONCLUSIONS: Of patients presenting for hydroxychloroquine screening, 54.8% of patients received appropriate evaluation, indicating lack of adherence to guidelines. Overall, SD OCT and 10-2 HVF were the preferred screening modalities, with FAF and mfERG less frequently ordered.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: To compare subfoveal choroidal thickness (CT) measurements in eyes with nonexudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in the presence or absence of reticular pseudodrusen (RPD). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Subfoveal CT measurements obtained from patients with AMD enrolled in the COMPLETE study (30 drusen-only eyes and 30 eyes with geographic atrophy [GA]) were compared with an age-distributed normal control group. Multimodal images were evaluated to detect the presence of RPD. RESULTS: After controlling for age and axial length, the mean CT was significantly thinner in the GA group with RPD (213.7 +/- 53.1 microm) than in the GA group without RPD (335.3 +/- 123.2 microm; P = .001). The mean CT in the GA group without RPD was not statistically different from the mean CT in the normal control group (P = .076) or the drusen group without RPD (P = .45). In eyes without RPD, there was a correlation between the increasing size of GA and a decrease in CT measurements. CONCLUSION: Subfoveal choroidal thinning in eyes with nonexudative AMD was associated with the presence of RPD. In the absence of RPD, CT only decreased as the size of GA increased.

PURPOSE: To report a brimonidone-induced allergic reaction that mimicked a limbal form of vernal keratoconjunctivitis in the setting of background ocular surface toxicity. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A 78-year-old male with a history of primary open angle glaucoma presented with symptoms of unilateral blurry vision, irritation, and redness shortly after starting brimonidine exclusively in the right eye. Examination revealed injected palpebral and bulbar conjunctiva, diffuse punctate epithelial erosion and discrete, non-staining corneal limbal infiltrates superiorly. RESULTS: Given the unilateral presentation, the patient was diagnosed with an allergic limbal keratoconjunctivitis secondary to bromonidine. Shortly after discontinuing the brimonidine, there was full resolution of the corneal limbal infiltrates. The punctate epithelial erosions and tear film abnormalities remained. CONCLUSION: Direct medication allergy and ocular surface disease are two distinct entities that often co-exist. Distinguishing between the two entities, sometimes by trial and error, is critical in the management of these patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: To report outcomes of pneumatic retinopexy (PR) for retinal detachment (RD) occurring after prior scleral buckling surgery (SB) or pars plana vitrectomy (PPV). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Single-center study evaluating all patients treated between January 2000 and March 2013. RESULTS: Ten eyes underwent PR after prior SB. Nine of these 10 eyes had persistent subretinal fluid posterior to the buckle in the setting of an open break on the scleral buckle. The mean time to PR in these cases was 8.5 days after SB. PR achieved anatomic reattachment in eight of 10 eyes, but two of 10 eyes required additional PPV to achieve retinal reattachment. Seven eyes underwent PR after prior PPV. The average time to RD after PPV was 67 days (range: 15-232 days). The location of the break was superior in four eyes, horizontal in two, and inferior in one. Anatomic reattachment with PR alone occurred in four of seven eyes (57%). CONCLUSION: In the setting of recurrent RD after initial SB, pneumatic retinopexy was usually successful in the early postoperative course. In the setting of a new-onset RD after PPV, pneumatic retinopexy was a useful option, but recurrent RD was more common.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: To evaluate anatomic and clinical outcomes of pneumatic retinopexy for treatment of primary retinal detachment. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Noncomparative, single-center, consecutive, interventional case series evaluating all patients treated between 2000 and 2012. Patients with less than 1 month of follow-up or coexisting neovascular age-related macular degeneration, uveitis, endophthalmitis, or prior posterior segment surgery were excluded. RESULTS: Sixty-three eyes of 63 patients with primary retinal detachment treated with pneumatic retinopexy were included. Median follow-up was 10.3 months. Single-operation success (SOS), defined as anatomic reattachment with pneumatic retinopexy alone, occurred in 40 eyes (63%). The retina was successfully reattached in 21 of the other 23 eyes (91%) with one additional surgery. There was no difference in visual acuity outcomes between SOS and additional surgical intervention (P = .85). New or missed breaks were identified in 19 of 63 eyes (30%). Postoperative subretinal fluid was observed in 22 of 63 eyes (35%) and persisted at last follow-up in two of 63 eyes (3%). At final follow-up, the retina was fully attached in 97% of eyes. CONCLUSION: Pneumatic retinopexy remains a reasonably successful option in the management of primary retinal detachment. No difference in best corrected visual acuity outcomes in eyes achieving SOS versus those requiring additional surgery was demonstrated.

PURPOSE: To correlate situational exposures and psychiatric disease with self-reported ocular surface symptoms in a younger veteran population involved in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF). METHODS: Cross-sectional study of all veterans evaluated in the OIF/OEF clinic between December 2012 and April 2013 who completed the dry eye questionnaire and screening evaluations for environmental exposures, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression. The main outcome measures were the influence of environmental exposure and psychiatric disease on ocular surface symptoms. RESULTS: Of 115 participants, the average age was 33 years. While overseas, exposure to incinerated waste (odds ratio [OR] 2.67, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.23-5.81, P = 0.02) and PTSD (OR 2.68, 95% CI 1.23-5.85, P = 0.02) were associated with self-reported ocular surface symptoms. On return to the United States, older age (OR per decade 2.66, 95% CI 1.65-4.31, P = 0.04) was associated with persistent symptoms and incinerated waste was associated with resolution of symptoms (OR 0.25, 95% CI 0.07-0.90, P = 0.04). When evaluating symptom severity, 26% of the responders complained of severe ocular surface symptoms, with PTSD (OR 3.10, 95% CI 1.22-7.88, P = 0.02) and depression (OR 4.28, 95% CI 1.71-10.68, P = 0.002) being significant risk factors for their presence. CONCLUSIONS: PTSD was significantly associated with ocular surface symptoms both abroad and on return to the United States, whereas air pollution in the form of incinerated waste, was correlated with reversible symptoms.

A 3-year-old boy presented with severe eye pain and nausea after colliding with a date palm tree branch. Examination under anesthesia revealed a self-sealed corneal laceration and traumatic cataract in his left eye. Cultures were taken and the patient received prophylactic subconjunctival, intravitreal, and systemic antibiotics because of the high risk of endophthalmitis. A thorn from the same tree grew Bacillus cereus. Examination after 2 weeks of the injury revealed a subretinal foreign body (a palm tree thorn), although there were no signs of endophthalmitis or retinal detachment. The patient underwent cataract extraction and laser demarcation of the subretinal foreign body, which was not removed. He was fitted for an aphakic contact lens. With alternate patching, his best-corrected visual acuity improved to 20/30.