SARS-CoV-2 and the ocular surface: test accuracy and viral load.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the pre-sence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA in the ocular surface of individuals clinically suspected of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and determine the accuracy of different approaches of molecular testing on the ocular surface based on the nasopharyngeal positivity status for COVID-19.

Methods: A total of 152 individuals with suspected COVID-19 symptoms who simultaneously underwent nasopharyngeal and two different tear film collection techniques for quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) were included. Tears were collected and randomized: one eye had the filter strip for the Schirmer test and the contralateral eye had conjunctival swab/cytology in the inferior fornix.

SARS-CoV-2 and the ocular surface: test accuracy and viral load.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the pre-sence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA in the ocular surface of individuals clinically suspected of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and determine the accuracy of different approaches of molecular testing on the ocular surface based on the nasopharyngeal positivity status for COVID-19.

Methods: A total of 152 individuals with suspected COVID-19 symptoms who simultaneously underwent nasopharyngeal and two different tear film collection techniques for quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) were included. Tears were collected and randomized: one eye had the filter strip for the Schirmer test and the contralateral eye had conjunctival swab/cytology in the inferior fornix.

Impacts of COVID-19 pandemic and public policies on corneal transplantations in Brazil.

Purpose: The study aimed to evaluate the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and public policies on corneal donations and transplantations in Brazil and get reliable indicators to support effective measures for improving the system of obtaining, processing, distributing, using, and controlling donated ocular tissues.

Methods: A questionnaire was applied by the Brazilian office of the Pan-American Association of Eye Banks (APABO) to Brazilian Eye Banks to collect data from January to August 2020 and generate reliable indicators about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on corneal donations and transplantations in Brazil.

Results: Data from 37 Eye Banks showed that 76.

Masquerade syndrome in ocular surface squamous neoplasia.

The aim of this study was to alert the ophthalmic community to an atypical manifestation of ocular surface squamous neoplasia, which may delay diagnosis and treatment and result in a guarded visual prognosis and significant sequelae. A 61-year-old immunocompetent man presented with an initial diagnosis of necrotizing scleritis in the right eye for 3 months. He was treated with systemic prednisone but experienced persistent pain and low visual acuity.

Impact of COVID-19 on corneal esthesiometry.

Individuals with suspected COVID-19 symptoms (n=202) were tested using nasopharyngeal RT-qPCR. All individuals underwent corneal esthesiometry measurements using the Cochet-Bonnet esthesiometer during their first visit; 50 participants underwent an additional measurement at a mean interval of 32.5 (17.

Subbasal corneal nerve damage in patients with bacterial keratitis: in vivo confocal microscopy study.

Purpose: To examine subbasal corneal nerve changes in patients with bacterial infectious keratitis using in vivo confocal microscopy.

Methods: Thirteen patients (13 eyes) with unilateral bacterial keratitis and 12 healthy controls were prospectively enrolled in the study. In vivo confocal microscopy was performed in all the patients at 2 time points, in the acute phase of infectious keratitis and at 28 ± 0.

Necrotizing Infiltrating Conjunctiva and Tenon's Capsule: A Case Report.

We report a case of a patient with necrotizing infection of the conjunctiva and Tenon's capsule caused by , a rare and atypical ophthalmologic condition. A 50-years-old male patient with acute red-eye, purulent discharge, and pain diagnosed with post-septal cellulitis presented with a yellowish and dense membrane covering the ocular surface with necrotic Tenon's capsule. Patient was hospitalized, and intravenous antibiotics were initiated (ceftriaxone and clindamycin).

SARS-COV-2 and Ocular Surface: From Physiology to Pathology, a Route to Understand Transmission and Disease.

Coronaviruses gained public attention during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in East Asia in 2003 and spread of Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (MERS) in 2012. Direct human-to-human contact and droplet are the main methods of transmission. Viral stability in aerosols on different surfaces supports evidence on indirect viral acquisition from fomites through the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose, and eyes.

Visual outcomes in advanced keratoconus using different strategies: Scleral lens, intracorneal ring segment and lamellar keratoplasty.

Purpose: To compare VA outcomes in patients with advanced keratoconus wearing SCL or after ICRS or DALK. In addition, determine the percentage of complimentary treatments after ICRS and DALK, and which of these was fitting a SCL, and final visual acuity (f-VA) results.

Methods: Retrospective case series analyzed 55 eyes with advanced keratoconus fitted with SCL, or after ICRS or a DALK between 2010 and 2018.

Visual Field Characteristics of Type I Boston Keratoprosthesis Patients Without Glaucoma.

Purpose: To determine visual field findings in Boston type 1-KPro (BI-KPro) patients without glaucoma. Characterize normal threshold values and global indices using standard automated perimetry and characterize visual field amplitude using Goldmann's manual perimetry.

Methods: This cross-sectional prospective noninterventional study included patients (n=6 patients, 6 eyes) with BI-KPro who had normal optical coherence tomography and fundoscopic evaluation of the optic disc and retina.

B-scan ultrasound, visual electrophysiology and perioperative videoendoscopy for predicting functional results in keratoprosthesis candidates.

Background/aims: We analysed the ability of B-scan ultrasound, ocular electrophysiology testing and videoendoscopic examination for predicting visual prognosis in Boston Type 1 keratoprosthesis (KPro-1) candidates. Indirect anatomical and electrophysiological findings and results from direct endoscopic evaluations were correlated with postoperative functional data.

Methods: In this prospective and interventional study, we included 13 individuals who had previously been indicated for Kpro-1 surgery.

Can Psychologic Stress Elevate Intraocular Pressure in Healthy Individuals?

Purpose: To investigate if a stress event can influence intraocular pressure (IOP) in a group of healthy individuals.

Design: Case-control study.

Participants: A total of 28 healthy subjects were included: 17 in the stress group and 11 in the control group.

Standardized pachymetry-assisted manual lamellar dissection for Descemet stripping endothelial keratoplasty.

Purpose: To present an alternative technique (Pachy-DSEK) for the manual preparation of thin endothelial lamellae in Descemet stripping endothelial keratoplasty (DSEK), as well as to evaluate its visual and anatomic outcomes.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted in 15 cases who underwent DSEK at a private eye clinic in Brazil (INOB, Brasília) from June 2017 to December 2019. All patients had ocular comorbidities and relative contraindications to Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK).

The Use of Digital Microscopy to Compare the Thicknesses of Normal Corneas and Rejected Corneal Grafts with a Focus on the Descemet's Membrane.

Objective: To compare the thickness of corneal layers, specifically the Descemet's membrane (DM), in normal corneas and in failed grafts due to rejection (FGRs) using the digital histopathology and to propose a model for the measurement of corneal layers using this method.

Methods: This is a prospective, cross-sectional study performed at the MUHC-McGill University Ocular Pathology & Translational Research Laboratory (McGill University, Montreal, Canada). Histopathological sections of 25 normal human corneas and 40 FGRs were fully digitalized and examined.

Intracorneal Ring Segments Implantation Outcomes Using Two Different Manufacturers' Nomograms for Keratoconus Surgery.

Purpose: To compare the outcomes of intracorneal ring segments (ICRS) implantation in keratoconic eyes with a similar tomographic pattern, using two different manufacturers' nomograms for surgical planning.

Methods: ICRS were implanted alternately in patients with the same tomographic pattern of keratoconus divided into two groups according to the surgical planning proposed by the ICRS manufacturers (Keraring, Mediphacos, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and Ferrara Ring, AJL Ophthalmics, Vitoria, Spain). Visual, refractive, keratometric, corneal aberrometry, and optical quality changes were evaluated during a 6-month follow-up.

Long-term outcomes with Boston type 1 keratoprosthesis in ocular burns.

Purpose: To evaluate the long-term outcomes of Boston type I keratoprosthesis (B-Kpro) in the management of patients with ocular burn injuries.

Methods: This prospective study included all patients with ocular burns who underwent B-Kpro implantation at a tertiary eye care center between February 2008 and November 2015. Twelve patients (12 eyes) were enrolled.

Femtosecond laser-assisted deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty in phototherapeutic keratectomy versus the big-bubble technique in keratoconus.

Aim: To compare the functional and anatomic results of femtosecond laser (FSL)-assisted deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) associated with phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK) and FSL-assisted DALK performed using the big-bubble technique in keratoconus.

Methods: During the first phase of the study, an electron microscopy histopathology pilot study was conducted that included four unsuitable donor corneas divided into two groups: in FSL group, FSL lamellar cuts were performed on two corneas and in FSL+PTK group, PTK was performed at the stromal beds of two corneas after FSL lamellar cuts were made. During the second phase of the study, a randomized clinical trial was conducted that included two treatment groups of patients with keratoconus: group 1 (=14 eyes) underwent FSL-assisted DALK associated with PTK and group 2 (=12 eyes) underwent FSL-assisted DALK associated with the big-bubble technique.

Boston Type I Keratoprosthesis: Antibacterial Resistance and Microbiota Evaluation of Soft Contact Lenses.

Purpose: To evaluate microbiota colonizing soft contact lenses (CL) in eyes with Boston type I keratoprosthesis (BKPro), and determine the prevalence of resistance to fourth-generation fluoroquinolone (FQ).

Design: Prospective, observational study.

Subjects: Patients with BKPro using CL as routine who were in postoperative follow-up in the Department of Ophthalmology of the Federal University of Sao Paulo, and volunteered to participate in the study.

Anterior segment optical coherence tomography findings in type I Boston keratoprosthesis.

Purpose: To report the results of high-resolution anterior segment optical coherence tomography of patients implanted with a type 1 Boston keratoprosthesis (KPro).

Methods: The retrospective study cohort included 11 eyes of 11 patients (average age, 58.4 years; range, 34-83 years).

Results with the Boston Type I keratoprosthesis after Acanthamoeba keratitis.

Purpose: To report the outcomes of implantation of the Boston Type I keratoprosthesis in three patients with Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK), a severe infection that can lead to significant visual loss.

Observations: Case series reporting three patients with difficult cases of AK that needed multiple corneal transplantations and glaucoma surgeries. All patients were implanted with the Boston Type I keratoprosthesis device.

Indications and visual outcomes of intrastromal corneal ring segment implantation in a large patient series.

Objectives:: To describe the indications for and visual outcomes of intrastromal corneal ring segment implantation.

Methods:: A large retrospective case-series chart-review study was conducted using Sorocaba Ophthalmological Hospital medical records. This study included 1222 eyes (1196 patients) that were surgically treated between November 2009 and December 2012.

Visual outcomes after deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty using donor corneas without removal of Descemet membrane and endothelium.

Purpose:: The optical quality of the interface after deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) using the big-bubble technique has been shown to be excellent, leading to results comparable to penetrating keratoplasty. However, there is little in the literature with respect to the controversy surrounding the preparation of the donor cornea. The purpose of this study was to evaluate visual acuity (VA) in patients with keratoconus who underwent DALK without removal of the donor graft endothelium.