Dry eye and cataract surgery: Narrative review and recommendations for management.

Cataract surgery is the most frequently performed surgical procedure in the elderly in Western countries and patients' expectations for postoperative outcomes are very high.Dry eye disease (DED) is a common multifactorial symptomatic disease of the ocular surface with a complex etiopathogenesis and a prevalence significantly increasing with age.Cataract surgery and DED have a complex relationship, which needs to be acknowledged, understood, and properly managed, as suggested by daily clinical experience and growing scientific evidence.

Corneal Epithelial Regeneration: Old and New Perspectives.

Corneal blindness is the fifth leading cause of blindness worldwide, and therapeutic options are still often limited to corneal transplantation. The corneal epithelium has a strong barrier function, and regeneration is highly dependent on limbal stem cell proliferation and basement membrane remodeling. As a result of the lack of corneal donor tissues, regenerative medicine for corneal diseases affecting the epithelium is an area with quite advanced basic and clinical research.

Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 amongst ophthalmologists throughout the first and second waves of the pandemic.

The study aims to investigate the prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection among ophthalmology unit staff throughout the first and second waves of the outbreak, in order to verify the effectiveness of the measures adopted in containing the contagion.A retrospective observational study was conducted involving staff members, who received a naso/oropharyngeal swab when complaining of SARS-CoV-2 symptoms and once a month as a screening measure. They were tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies as a screening measure during the first and the second wave.

Angle-supported intraocular lens versus scleral-sutured posterior chamber intraocular lens in post-cataract surgery aphakic patients: two-year follow-up cost-effectiveness analysis.

Purpose: To compare visual, anatomical and economical outcomes of patients with secondary anterior chamber intraocular lens (AC-IOL) implantation and secondary scleral fixated intraocular lens (SF-IOL) implantation.

Methods: In this retrospective observational study, 38 aphakic patients after complicated phacoemulsification divided in two groups, AC-IOL group (17 patients receiving AC-IOL implantation) and SF-IOL group (21 patients receiving SF-IOL implantation). Corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), patient reported visual outcome (VF-14) and endothelial cell density (ECD) were measured at baseline and two-year follow-up.

Sutureless "Contact Lens Sandwich" Technique for Amniotic Membrane Therapy of Central Corneal Ulcers.

Purpose: To describe a new technique for sutureless and glue-free amniotic membrane transplantation (AMT) and to investigate its effectiveness to treat corneal persistent epithelial defects (PEDs), compared to bandage contact lens (BCL) application alone.

Methods: We performed AMT with "contact lens sandwich technique" (CLS-AMT) in 8 consecutive patients with central/para-central (up to 4.00 mm from the geometrical centre) PED/ulceration and we retrospectively compared the results with 11 BCL procedures.

Optical coherence tomography angiography application to pigmented iris: Could a new index quantify blood flow?

Purpose: To assess the blood flow and vascular visibility of irises in relation to pigmentation and pupil size, using an anterior segment optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).

Materials And Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. OCTA images were acquired in the nasal and temporal quadrants from a cohort of 30 healthy subjects in photopic (miosis) and scotopic (mydriasis) conditions.

Intraocular pressure control after combined phacotrabeculectomy versus trabeculectomy alone.

Purpose: We compared the efficacy and safety of trabeculectomy and phacotrabeculectomy in patients with glaucoma.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed consecutive patients who underwent trabeculectomy or phacotrabeculectomy. Patients in the trabeculectomy group were pseudophakic.

Impact of Adherence (Compliance) to Oral Acyclovir Prophylaxis in the Recurrence of Herpetic Keratitis: Long-Term Results From a Pediatric Cohort.

Purpose: To evaluate the long-term role of adherence to oral acyclovir prophylaxis in reducing the risk for recurrent herpes simplex virus keratitis (HSK) in children.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed including all pediatric patients 16 years or younger) with their first HSK diagnosis and treatment at our center. Children were started on a standardized oral acyclovir prophylactic regimen after the acute phase.

Medical management of pediatric glaucoma: lessons learned from randomized clinical trials.

Purpose: To critically discuss the randomized clinical trials (RCTs) on glaucoma medical therapy for the management of pediatric glaucoma.

Methods: RCTs on glaucoma drugs carried out on pediatric subjects with ocular hypertension and glaucoma were identified through systematic searches. The methods of the RCTs and the safety and the efficacy of the glaucoma drugs were reviewed and discussed.

The Ocular Surface Frailty Index as a Predictor of Ocular Surface Symptom Onset after Cataract Surgery.

Purpose: The identification of healthy persons more susceptible to dry eye (DED) symptoms developing after surgery remains an unmet need. We performed this study to build a new Ocular Surface Frailty Index (OSFI) and assess its predictive value for DED symptom onset after cataract surgery.

Design: Single-center, observational, longitudinal study.

Mushroom keratoplasty and contact lens application: Strategy for management of a pediatric eye injury.

We show the challenging visual rehabilitation of a penetrating eye injury in a child with wide central corneal scar and aphakia. A 9-year-old male patient underwent combined surgery, including membranectomy with pupilloplasty and mushroom penetrating keratoplasty. Corneal transparency was restored; aphakia and irregular astigmatism were corrected first with a rigid gas-permeable contact lens (CL) and then, successfully, with hybrid CL.

Efficacy of atropine 0.01% for the treatment of childhood myopia in European patients.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of atropine 0.01% in slowing myopia progression in European paediatric patients.

Methods: Retrospective, medical records review study.

Dry Eye in Vernal Keratoconjunctivitis: A Cross-Sectional Comparative Study.

The purpose of this comparative cross-sectional study was to investigate the use of standardized clinical tests for dry eye in pediatric patients with active and quiet vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) and to compare them with healthy children.We recruited 35 active VKC, 35 inactive VKC, and 70 age-matched control healthy subjects. Each child underwent a complete eye examination, including visual analog scale symptoms assessment, biomicroscopy, fluorescein break-up time (BUT), corneal fluorescein and conjunctival lissamine green staining, corneal esthesiometry, Schirmer test with anesthetic, and meibomian glands inspection and expression.

The dynamic healing process of idiopathic macular holes after surgical repair: a spectral-domain optical coherence tomography study.

Purpose: To analyze progressive changes of the outer retina after vitrectomy for macular hole (MH) repair.

Methods: Nineteen consecutive patients underwent vitrectomy for idiopathic MH. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) examinations were performed pre- and postoperatively during follow-up visits at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months.

Transcorneal suture fixation of posterior lamellar grafts in eyes with minimal or absent iris-lens diaphragm.

Purpose: To describe a technique that uses a transcorneal suture for safe delivery and fixation of donor tissue during Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty in patients that are at risk of graft dislocation into the vitreous cavity as a result of minimal or absent iris-lens diaphragm.

Design: Interventional case series.

Methods: Thirteen eyes with endothelial decompensation and inadequate iris-lens diaphragm underwent modified Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty surgery.

Automated software analysis of corneal micrographs for peripheral neuropathy.

Purpose: A relationship has been reported between the presence of peripheral neuropathy and the density and shape of corneal nerve fibers. Peripheral neuropathy is a debilitating condition that arises from many common health problems, and its presence is often confirmed with an invasive clinical test called intramuscular electromyography (EMG). In this study, the possibility of developing an alternative or adjunct test to EMG based on the appearance of nerve fibers in corneal micrographs was explored.

Evaluation of prostaglandin analogue effects on corneal keratocyte density using scanning laser confocal microscopy.

Purpose: To determine if treatment with prostaglandin (PG) analogues affects keratocyte density as an indirect measure of extracellular matrix in the corneal stroma.

Patients And Methods: In this case control study, 129 eyes from 68 patients were examined: 52 eyes had only PG analogue therapy for at least 3 years, 37 eyes had only β-adrenergic blocker therapy for at least 3 years, and 40 control eyes were without therapy. Scanning laser confocal microscopy was carried out, and each corneal stroma was subdivided into the anterior, midstroma, and posterior stroma.

Artifacts in automatic retinal segmentation using different optical coherence tomography instruments.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare and evaluate artifact errors in automatic inner and outer retinal boundary detection produced by different time-domain and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) instruments.

Methods: Normal and pathologic eyes were imaged by six different OCT devices. For each instrument, standard analysis protocols were used for macular thickness evaluation.