Baseline features of idiopathic optic neuritis as determined by a multicenter treatment trial in Japan. Optic Neuritis Treatment Trial Multicenter Cooperative Research Group (ONMRG).

BACKGROUND: An optic neuritis treatment trial was conducted at 30 clinical centers in Japan using the same protocol. Patient participation was based on: age range of 14-55 years; acute symptoms indicative of unilateral optic neuritis of unknown or demyelinating origin; visual symptoms of 14-day duration or less; relative afferent pupillary defect in affected eye; and normal or swollen optic disc of affected eye. CASES: Initially, 102 patients qualified for participation; baseline data were obtained for analysis from 70 of these patients. Demographic characteristics of Japanese patients with optic neuritis were clarified and compared with those in a US study. OBSERVATIONS: The incidence of ocular or periocular pain and the presence of periventricular plaques were noted to be lower, and the incidence of disc swelling higher, in the Japanese patients, suggesting racial differences in the characteristics of the disease. Such differences may possibly be related to the lower incidence of multiple sclerosis in Japanese patients. The results of visual function tests were virtually the same in both studies. The nonaffected eyes of more than half the patients showed abnormal mean deviation in Humphrey field analysis, as also noted in the US study. CONCLUSIONS: The baseline clinical features of optic neuritis in the Japanese patients have been defined. Some racial differences in the characteristics of the disease may exist.     

Outcome-based management of retinopathy of prematurity. Multicenter Trial of Cryotherapy for Retinopathy of prematurity Cooperative Group.

PURPOSE: A system is presented for sequentially computing the risk of progression of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) for infants born weighing not more than 1250 gm. A personal computer program is used to monitor infants' risk of threshold ROP from first appearance of ROP, and the progression in severity is tracked with multiple logistic risk models developed from data in the Multicenter Trial of Cryotherapy for Retinopathy of Prematurity. METHODS: After entry of the infant's birth weight, gestational age, ethnicity, birth in the current hospital or elsewhere, single or multiple birth, and maturity zone of retinal vessels, risk of progression to threshold severity is calculated. New estimates of risk are computed at onset of ROP and prethreshold ROP (any zone I ROP, zone II stage 2+ or 3) according to the extent of retinal vascularization when ROP first appears, how rapidly ROP progresses, and how severe it is.When threshold ROP (8 total or 5 contiguous clock hours of stage 3+ in zone I or II) is reached,the system provides separate estimates of risk that the eye will have an unfavorable 3-month outcome if treated or not. RESULTS: Estimates of risk of progression to threshold disease among the 4099 patients in the Multicenter Trial of Cryotherapy for Retinopathy of Prematurity natural history study varied from less than 1% to more than 70%. For eyes with threshold disease, the risk of an unfavorable outcome at 3 months without treatment varied from less than 10% to more than 90%. CONCLUSION: This method of tracking identifies infants at high risk for severe ROP and poor structural outcome. It provides information about prognosis with a specificity heretofore impossible.     

中国脱髓鞘性视神经炎诊断和治疗循证指南(2021年)

脱髓鞘性视神经炎(DON)是主要累及视神经的中枢神经系统炎性脱髓鞘疾病。准确诊断、降低复发率、改善预后一直是临床诊疗过程中关注的重点。随着有关DON临床诊断标志物、疾病分型及不同亚型治疗研究的深入,越来越多的临床证据不断涌现,迫切需要及时制定DON的诊断和治疗循证指南,指导临床进一步规范开展工作。为此中华医学会眼科学分会神经眼科学组联合兰州大学循证医学中心/世界卫生组织指南实施与知识转化合作中心,按照循证指南制定的方法和步骤,成立指南指导委员会、指南共识专家组和指南外审专家组以及指南制定工作组,通过调研临床一线神经眼科医师、眼科医师及神经内科医师,收集并整理临床关注问题,全面检索和系统评价国内外相关研究证据,制定新的系统评价,组织召开专家共识会议,深入访谈和剖析患者偏好和价值观,最终形成16条针对DON诊断和治疗的推荐意见,主要涉及分类和诊断、急性期和慢性期治疗、随访管理等方面,并对每条推荐意见进行详细的解释说明,以期为临床有效治疗DON和降低复发率发挥指导作用。(中华眼科杂志,2021,57:171-186)     

Acute optic neuritis in children: clinical features and treatment. A study of 28 eyes in 20 children

PURPOSE: Analyzing a personal series of children with acute optic neuritis (AON), we studied MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective study of 28 eyes in 20 patients (mean age: 10;7 years), examined between 1982 and 1997, with a follow-up ranging from 6 months to 15 years (mean: 5;5 years). We recorded etiologic factors, clinical features (ocular and extra ocular), biological results, and neuroimaging findings. RESULTS: Initial involvement was uni- or bilateral with poor visual acuity (under 20/200 in 22 eyes of 28). Intracerebral inflammation was present in 9 of 13 cases where MRI was performed. We found a cause in only 7 cases (5 viral diseases and 2 recent vaccinations against hepatitis B). Visual recovery was good (over 20/25 in 20 eyes of 28) whatever the treatment, but AON recurred in 5 children. Four children later developed multiple sclerosis. CONCLUSIONS: The cause of AON is rarely found. After eliminating an infection, we retained viral disease, complication of a recent vaccination against hepatitis B, and neurological diseases. MRI was the imaging study of choice. Development of multiple sclerosis occurred in 4 cases of 20, the same frequency as in the literature. The risk of later development of multiple sclerosis was 20%. Progression of AON was often excellent. Nevertheless, corticotherapy was added, in form of intravenous boluses followed by decreasing oral therapy for one month.     

Effect of autologous platelet concentrate in surgery for idiopathic macular hole: results of a multicenter, double-masked, randomized trial. Platelets in Macular Hole Surgery Group.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate prospectively the efficacy and safety of autologous platelet concentrate (APC) as an adjuvant in surgery for idiopathic macular hole. DESIGN: Multicenter, double-masked, randomized clinical trial. SETTING: Four university-based ophthalmology clinics. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred ten patients with stage 3 or 4 idiopathic full-thickness macular holes of less than 3 years' duration were randomized (53 eyes to the platelet group and 57 eyes to the control group). INTERVENTIONS: Standardized macular hole surgery versus surgery combined with injection of an APC. In all cases, the procedure consisted of three-port pars plana vitrectomy, posterior hyaloid separation, and nonexpansile fluid-gas exchange. After the fluid-gas exchange, patients were randomized to receive either injection of an APC or no adjunctive treatment. After surgery, patients were positioned face down for 12 days. Platelet counts showed that the concentrates contained a mean of 96.106 platelets (range, 82-102). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Anatomic and functional evaluations were performed at 1, 3, and 6 months after surgery in a double-masked fashion by an independent observer. The main outcome was reapposition of the edge of the macular hole 1 month after surgery. Secondary outcomes were anatomic status at 3 and 6 months, changes in Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study score, and complications. RESULTS: One month after surgery, the anatomic success rate in the platelet group was 52 of 53 (98%; 95% confidence interval, 0.90-1.00) versus 47 of 57 (82%; 95% confidence interval, 0.70-0.91) in the control group (P = 0.009, Fisher's exact test; relative risk, 0.11; 95% confidence interval, 0.01-0.81). Visual acuity was not significantly different between the two groups at any timepoint. There were no complications specifically attributable to the platelet injection. CONCLUSION: Injection of APC improved significantly the anatomic success rate of surgery for idiopathic macular holes of less than 3 years' duration, but postoperative visual acuity of the platelet group was not statistically different from the control group.     

Multicenter study of the European Assessment Group for Lysis in the Eye (EAGLE) for the treatment of central retinal artery occlusion: design issues and implications. EAGLE Study report no. 1

Background The natural course of central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) often leads to legal blindness in the affected eye. To date, none of the conservative therapies had proven effective in retrospective studies. In 1991, a new minimally invasive therapy was started in patients with an acute CRAO. This therapy, namely, local intra-arterial fibrinolysis, is comparable to the minimally invasive therapy in patients with an acute ischemic stroke. In pilot studies, it showed promising results in comparison with conservative treatments. The efficacy of this method is now being investigated in a randomized multicenter study.Methods The European Assessment Group for Lysis in the Eye (EAGLE) started a prospective and randomized multicenter study in 2002 to evaluate therapeutic efficacy. Inclusion criteria are age between 18 and 75 years and a CRAO not older than 20 h with a visual acuity less than 0.32. The most important exclusion criteria are branch retinal artery occlusion (BRAO), cilioretinal arteries supplying the macula, and serious general disease. After randomization the patient is treated by conservative or local intra-arterial lysis therapy. The conservative regime included bulbus massage, lowering intraocular pressure with topical beta-blocker and acetazolamide, acetylsalicylic acid, heparin, and—depending on the hematocrit—isovolemic hemodilution. In case of local intra-arterial fibrinolysis, a maximum of 50 mg rtPA is injected into the ophthalmic artery by the neuroradiologist. During the following 5 days, all patients are treated with heparin. Primary study end point is visual acuity 1 month after therapy in comparison with visual acuity before therapy. The calculated sample size is 100 patients per subtrial (a total of 200 patients). The study was started in June 2002. To April 2005, 47 patients were included.Conclusions The EAGLE Study is the first randomized prospective clinical trial to compare conservative medical treatment and local intra-arterial fibrinolysis in patients with CRAO. The results of this study should enable ophthalmologists and neuroradiologists to improve the therapy of patients with acute CRAO. To April 2005, treatment is only justified in randomized multicenter studies because of the limited therapeutical visual outcome. We welcome new study centers to join.The study was presented at the German Ophthalmological Society (DOG) meeting 2004.Financial support: the present study is supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgesellschaft and Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma KG. The Center of Clinical Trials, University Hospital Freiburg received funding by the BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research)     

Use of a grading system in the evaluation of complications in a randomised controlled trial on cataract surgery. Oxford Cataract Treatment and Evaluation Team (OCTET).

A randomised controlled trial in progress for more than five years assessed 333 eyes by three methods of cataract surgery. These were (A) intracapsular extraction and contact lens usage; (B) intracapsular extraction and implantation of an iris supported lens (Federov I); and (C) extracapsular extraction and implantation of an iridocapsular lens (Binkhorst 2-loop). This paper reports the use of a weighting scale for rank scoring complications which are dissimilar or are mutually exclusive (for example, capsular versus contact lens problems) to allow the use of non-parametric statistics for comparing disparate features. Thus we found that group B did significantly worse in terms of the number and severity of postoperative complications, a trend in accordance with visual results. This method may serve as a useful model for similar studies.     

Causes of severe visual loss in the early treatment diabetic retinopathy study: ETDRS report no. 24. Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study Research Group

PURPOSE: To describe the causes of and risk factors for persistent severe visual loss occurring in the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS). METHODS: The ETDRS was a randomized clinical trial investigating photocoagulation and aspirin in 3,711 persons with mild to severe nonproliferative or early proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Severe visual loss, defined as best-corrected visual acuity of less than 5/200 on at least two consecutive 4-month follow-up visits, developed in 257 eyes (219 persons). Of these 257 eyes, 149 (127 persons) did not recover to 5/200 or better at any visit (persistent severe visual loss). Ocular characteristics of these eyes were compared with those of eyes with severe visual loss that improved to 5/200 or better at any subsequent visit. Characteristics of patients with severe visual loss that did and did not improve and those without severe visual loss were also compared. RESULTS: Severe visual loss that persisted developed in 149 eyes of 127 persons. In order of decreasing frequency, reasons recorded for persistent visual loss included vitreous or preretinal hemorrhage, macular edema or macular pigmentary changes related to macular edema, macular or retinal detachment, and neovascular glaucoma. Compared with all patients without persistent severe visual loss, patients with persistent severe visual loss had higher mean levels of hemoglobin A1c (10.4% vs 9.7%; P = .001) and higher levels of cholesterol (244.1 vs 228.5 mg/dl; P = .0081) at baseline. Otherwise, patients with persistent severe visual loss were similar to patients with severe visual loss that improved and to those without severe visual loss. CONCLUSIONS: Persistent severe visual loss was an infrequent occurrence in the ETDRS. Its leading cause was vitreous or preretinal hemorrhage, followed by macular edema or macular pigmentary changes related to macular edema and retinal detachment. The low frequency of persistent severe visual loss in the ETDRS is most likely related to the nearly universal intervention with scatter photocoagulation (either before or soon after high-risk proliferative diabetic retinopathy developed) and the intervention with vitreous surgery when clinically indicated.