Bronchial to subclavian shunt in a CF patient. A potential pitfall for embolization

Bronchial artery embolization is a well accepted and widely used technique in the management of massive haemoptysis in cystic fibrosis (CF). It can be a complex procedure requiring a deep knowledge of the bronchial artery anatomy including the possible bronchial anastomoses. We report a case of complex vascular anatomy of the left bronchial artery with multiple anastomoses with the ipsilateral subclavian artery as cause of non-attempted embolization. \ua9 2003 European Cystic Fibrosis Society. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Persistent or Recurrent Diabetic Macular Edema After Fluocinolone Acetonide 0.19 mg Implant: Risk Factors and Management

Purpose: To investigate baseline characteristics of patients undergoing additional antivascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections for residual or recurrent diabetic macular edema (DME) in the first year after 0.19-mg fluocinolone acetonide (FAc) implant. Design: Prospective cohort study. Methods: Ninety-four eyes of 66 patients received an FAc implant. Eyes with persistent or recurrent DME were managed with pro re nata anti-VEGF agents. Demographic data and medical history were collected at baseline. Best-corrected visual acuity and central macular thickness were measured every 2 months. The 3 outcomes explored were 1) the risk factors for administration of additional anti-VEGF agents, 2) the interval from FAc to first anti-VEGF injection; and 3) the number of anti-VEGF doses required to maintain regression of DME. Results: Eighteen eyes (19.1%) of 13 patients received 1.3 ± 0.6 anti-VEGF injections. These eyes had significantly thicker central macular thickness at baseline and over the entire follow-up period (P < .001); best-corrected visual acuity was similar at every time point to eyes that were not receiving extra DME treatments. Eyes without preexistent panretinal photocoagulation (PRP) had a higher risk to undergo supplemental treatments (hazard ratio 1.5 [95% confidence interval 1.1-2.5, P = .03). The interval between FAc implant and the first anti-VEGF had a significant linear positive relationship with the number of dexamethasone implants before FAc implant (P = .002, R2 = 0.47). No association was found between baseline factors and the number of injections given. Conclusion: Anti-VEGF agents are efficient treatment to maintain visual acuity in residual/recurrent DME after FAc. Patients with higher baseline central macular thickness and with no previous central macular thickness are more likely to require additional treatments to control DME

Estimating the Distribution of True Rates of Visual Field Progression in Glaucoma

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to estimate the distribution of the true rates of progression (RoP) of visual field (VF) loss. . Methods: We analyzed the progression of mean deviation over time in series of ≥ 10 tests from 3352 eyes (one per patient) from 5 glaucoma clinics, using a novel Bayesian hierarchical Linear Mixed Model (LMM); this modeled the random-effect distribution of RoPs as the sum of 2 independent processes following, respectively, a negative exponential distribution (the "true" distribution of RoPs) and a Gaussian distribution (the "noise"), resulting in a skewed exGaussian distribution. The exGaussian-LMM was compared to a standard Gaussian-LMM using the Watanabe-Akaike Information Criterion (WAIC). The random-effect distributions were compared to the empirical cumulative distribution function (eCDF) of linear regression RoPs using a Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Results: The WAIC indicated a better fit with the exGaussian-LMM (estimate [standard error]: 192174.4 [721.2]) than with the Gaussian-LMM (192595 [697.4], with a difference of 157.2 [22.6]). There was a significant difference between the eCDF and the Gaussian-LMM distribution (P < 0.0001), but not with the exGaussian-LMM distribution (P = 0.108). The estimated mean (95% credible intervals, CIs) "true" RoP (-0.377, 95% CI = -0.396 to -0.359 dB/year) was more negative than the observed mean RoP (-0.283, 95% CI = -0.299 to -0.268 dB/year), indicating a bias likely due to learning in standard LMMs. Conclusions: The distribution of "true" RoPs can be estimated with an exGaussian-LMM, improving model accuracy. Translational Relevance: We used these results to develop a fast and accurate analytical approximation for sample-size calculations in clinical trials using standard LMMs, which was integrated in a freely available web application

Comparison of Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer and Ganglion Cell-Inner Plexiform Layer Thickness Values Using Spectral-Domain and Swept-Source OCT

PURPOSE: To compare peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) and macular ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (mGCIPL) thickness measurements obtained with spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and swept-source OCT (SS-OCT) using an OCT-angiography scanning protocol, and their ability to distinguish among patients with glaucoma, glaucoma suspects (GS), and healthy controls (HC). METHODS: Cross-sectional study of 196 eyes (81 glaucoma, 48 GS, and 67 HC) of 119 participants. Participants underwent peripapillary and macular OCT with SD-OCT and SS-OCT. Parameters of interest were average and sector-wise pRNFL and mGCIPL thickness. Inter-device agreement was investigated with Bland-Altman statistics. Conversion formulas were developed with linear regression. Diagnostic performances were evaluated with area under the receiver operating characteristic curves. RESULTS: Both SD-OCT and SS-OCT detected a significant pRNFL and mGCIPL thinning in glaucoma patients compared to HC and GS for almost all study sectors. A strong linear relationship between the two devices was present for all quadrants/sectors (R2 ≥ 0.81, P < 0.001), except for the nasal (R2 = 0.49, P < 0.001) and temporal (R2 = 0.62, P < 0.001) pRNFL quadrants. SD-OCT and SS-OCT measurements had a proportional bias, which could be removed with conversion formulas. Overall, the two devices showed similar diagnostic abilities. CONCLUSIONS: Thickness values obtained with SD-OCT and SS-OCT are not directly interchangeable but potentially interconvertible. Both devices have a similar ability to discriminate glaucoma patients from GS and healthy subjects. TRANSLATIONAL RELEVANCE: OCT-Angiography scans can be reliably used to obtain structural metrics in glaucoma patients

Optical coherence tomography and optical coherence tomography angiography in glaucoma: diagnosis, progression, and correlation with functional tests

The present review will summarize the most updated findings with regards to optical coherence tomography and optical coherence tomography angiography in glaucoma, highlighting their clinical use for detection and monitoring of the disease, and their correlation to functional tests (such as visual field) widely employed in the asset of modern glaucoma clinics

Hypotony-associated Complications after Deep Sclerectomy

Precis: Chronic hypotony is not uncommon following deep sclerectomy (DS), but only a minor proportion of patients develop hypotony-Associated complications. Numerical hypotony does not affect the visual outcomes. This study identifies factors associated with hypotony. Purpose: To investigate the incidence and risk factors of hypotony and hypotony-Associated complications after DS. Methods: Retrospective cohort study of 1765 eyes (1385 patients) undergoing DS with or without cataract extraction between 2001 and 2020 in 2 UK centers. Chronic hypotony was defined as intraocular pressure (IOP) ≤5 mm Hg in ≥2 consecutive visits lasting >90 days or as any IOP ≤5 mm Hg associated with hypotony-related complications or requiring surgical intervention. Clinical hypotony was defined as the presence of: serous or hemorrhagic choroidal detachment, hypotony maculopathy, flat anterior chamber requiring reformation, decompression retinopathy. The incidence of hypotony was calculated with Kaplan-Meier statistics, and Cox regression was used to identify risk factors. Results: The median (interquartile range) age and follow-up were 76 (67 to 82) years and 45.4 (20.9 to 79.8) months, respectively. The incidence (95% confidence interval) of chronic and clinical hypotony at 5 years was 13.4% (11.5%-15.3%) and 5.6% (4.3%-6.9%), respectively. Sixteen eyes (15.7%) with hypotony-Associated complications had IOP >5 mm Hg. Male sex (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.89, P=0.018), non-Caucasian ethnicity (HR: 2.49, P=0.046), intraoperative bevacizumab (HR: 3.96, P=0.01), pigmentary glaucoma (HR: 3.59, P=0.048), previous vitreoretinal surgery (HR: 5.70, P=0.009), intraoperative microperforation (HR: 4.17, P<0.001) and macroperforation (HR: 20.76, P<0.001), and avascular bleb (HR: 1.80, P=0.036) were associated with clinical hypotony. Discussion: Chronic hypotony is not uncommon following DS, but clinical hypotony is infrequent. Hypotony associated-complications can occur in eyes without statistical hypotony