Health claims database study of cyclosporine ophthalmic emulsion treatment patterns in dry eye patients

Karl G Stonecipher,1 Jenny Chia,2 Ahunna Onyenwenyi,2 Linda Villanueva,2 David A Hollander2 1TLC Laser Eye Centers, Greensboro, NC, 2Allergan, Inc., Irvine, CA, USA Background: Dry eye is a multifactorial, symptomatic disease associated with ocular surface inflammation and tear film hyperosmolarity. This study was designed to assess patterns of topical cyclosporine ophthalmic emulsion 0.05% (Restasis®) use in dry eye patients and determine if there were any differences in use based on whether dry eye is physician-coded as a primary or nonprimary diagnosis. Methods: Records for adult patients with a diagnosis of dry eye at an outpatient visit from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2009 were selected from Truven Health MarketScan® Research Databases. The primary endpoint was percentage of patients with at least one primary versus no primary dry eye diagnosis who filled a topical cyclosporine prescription. Data analyzed included utilization of topical corticosteroids, oral tetracyclines, and punctal plugs. Results: The analysis included 576,416 patients, accounting for 875,692 dry eye outpatient visits: 74.7% were female, 64.2% were ages 40-69 years, and 84.4% had at least one primary dry eye diagnosis. During 2008–2009, 15.9% of dry eye patients with a primary diagnosis versus 6.5% with no primary diagnosis filled at least one cyclosporine prescription. For patients who filled at least one prescription, the mean months’ supply of cyclosporine filled over 12 months was 4.44. Overall, 33.9% of dry eye patients filled a prescription for topical cyclosporine, topical corticosteroid, or oral tetracycline over 2 years. Conclusion: Patients with a primary dry eye diagnosis were more likely to fill a topical cyclosporine prescription. Although inflammation is key to the pathophysiology of dry eye, most patients seeing a physician for dry eye may not receive anti-inflammatory therapies. Keywords: corticosteroids, cyclosporine, dry eye syndromes, inflammation, medication adherenc

The Prospective Health Assessment of Cataract Patients’ Ocular Surface (PHACO) study: the effect of dry eye

William B Trattler,1 Parag A Majmudar,2 Eric D Donnenfeld,3 Marguerite B McDonald,4 Karl G Stonecipher,5 Damien F Goldberg6 On behalf of the PHACO Study Group 1Center for Excellence in Eye Care, Miami, FL, USA; 2Chicago Cornea Consultants, Chicago, IL, USA; 3Ophthalmic Consultants of Long Island, Garden City, NY, USA; 4Ophthalmic Consultants of Long Island, Lynbrook, NY, USA; 5University North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; 6Wolstan & Goldberg Eye Associates, Torrance, CA, USA Purpose: To determine the incidence and severity of dry eye as determined by the International Task Force (ITF) scale in patients being screened for cataract surgery.Patients and methods: This was a prospective, multi-center, observational study of 136 patients, at least 55 years of age, who were scheduled to undergo cataract surgery. The primary outcome measure was the incidence of dry eye as evaluated by grade on the ITF scale and secondary outcome measures include tear break-up time (TBUT), ocular surface disease index score, corneal staining with fluorescein, conjunctival staining with lissamine green, and a patient questionnaire to evaluate symptoms of dry eye.Results: Mean patient age was 70.7 years. A total of 73.5% of patients were Caucasian and 50% were female. Almost 60% had never complained of a foreign body sensation; only 13% complained of a foreign body sensation half or most of the time. The majority of patients (62.9%) had a TBUT ≤5 seconds, 77% of eyes had positive corneal staining and 50% of the eyes had positive central corneal staining. Eighteen percent had Schirmer’s score with anesthesia ≤5 mm.Conclusion: The incidence of dry eye in patients scheduled to undergo cataract surgery in a real-world setting is higher than anticipated. Keywords: cataract surgery screening, dry eye, International Task Force scale, observational stud

The IMPACT study: a prospective evaluation of the effects of cyclosporine ophthalmic emulsion 0.05% on ocular surface staining and visual performance in patients with dry eye

Karl G Stonecipher,1,2 Gail L Torkildsen,3 George W Ousler III,4 Scot Morris,5 Linda Villanueva,6 David A Hollander6 1Department of Ophthalmology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 2TLC Laser Eye Centers, Greensboro, NC, 3Andover Eye Associates, 4Ora, Inc., Andover, MA, 5Eye Consultants of Colorado, Conifer, CO, 6Allergan plc, Irvine, CA, USA Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of cyclosporine ophthalmic emulsion 0.05% on ocular surface staining and visual performance in patients with dry eye.Methods: This was a single-center, 6-month, open-label, Phase IV study. Patients with bilateral dry eye disease and a symptom score of ≥2 on the Ocular Discomfort and 4-Symptom Questionnaire, an Ocular Surface Disease Index score of >12, at least one eye with Schirmer’s score <10 mm/5 minutes, and central corneal staining graded as ≥2 on the Ora Calibra™ Corneal and Conjunctival Staining Scale were enrolled. Cyclosporine ophthalmic emulsion 0.05% (Restasis®) was instilled twice daily in each eye. The primary efficacy endpoints were ocular surface staining and visual function at 6 months. Secondary outcome measures included Schirmer’s test, tear film breakup time, symptoms, and adverse events.Results: A total of 40 patients with the mean age of 59.4 years (range, 40–78 years) were enrolled; 35 (87.5%) were female and 37 (92.5%) completed the study. At 6 months, inferior corneal, central corneal, total corneal, and total ocular surface fluorescein staining were significantly improved from baseline in both eyes (P<0.001). Patient responses on the Ocular Surface Disease Index showed significant improvement in blurred vision and visual function related to reading, driving at night, working with a computer or bank machine, and watching television (P≤0.041). At 6 months, 35.1% of patients achieved ≥5 mm improvement and 18.9% achieved ≥10 mm improvement in the average eye Schirmer score. Mean tear film breakup time improved by >50% in both eyes (P<0.001). Patients reported significant improvement in ocular discomfort and dry eye symptoms (P<0.001). No patients discontinued treatment because of stinging or any other ocular adverse event.Conclusion: Dry eye patients with difficulties with day-to-day visual function demonstrated improvement in both signs and symptoms of dry eye and reported improved visual function after 6 months of treatment with cyclosporine ophthalmic emulsion 0.05%. Keywords: corneal staining, dry eye disease, Ocular Surface Disease Index, ocular surface staining, visual function, clinical tria

Intra-Abdominal Infections Due to Comamonas kerstersii

Herein, we report four cases of Comamonas kerstersii intra-abdominal infections representing the first report of human infections caused by this Comamonas species. In addition, our work demonstrates the association of C. kerstersii with peritonitis secondary to appendix rupture