EW Weekly, March 20, 2020

- ASCRS cancels Annual Meeting
- Thoughts from EyeWorld Chief Medical Editor Eric Donnenfeld, MD
- COVID-19: Conjunctival congestion may have diagnostic significance
- Study: More adults at risk for vision loss in 2017 compared with 2002
- Study enrollment complete for ARGOS-SC01 for IOP monitoring
- Product news
- When comparing 250 micrograms and 500 micrograms of intracameral moxifloxacin, clinical and corneal endothelial cells were comparable, and both doses were well tolerated clinically, reported David Chang, MD, and coresearchers in their prospective, masked, randomized study. The researchers focused on whether intracameral moxifloxacin 500 micrograms is noninferior to 250 micrograms for central endothelial cell loss after phaco. Fifty eyes of 25 patients between ages 48 and 69 years at Aravind Eye Care System were included. Eyes included had bilateral nuclear cataracts, a central endothelial cell density (ECD) of more than 2000 cells/mm2, and an endothelial cell density that did not differ more than 200 cells/mm2. The included eyes had phaco at least 14 days apart. The first eye was randomized to receive a 500 or 250 microgram dose of moxifloxacin intracamerally and received the other dose for the second eye surgery. The preop and 30-day and 90-day postop central ECD was determined by a reading center for a masked analysis of endothelial cell loss at 3 months postop. The point estimate and 95% CI for the mean difference in percentage of endothelial cell loss between 500 and 250 microgram doses at 3 months postop was 0.8%. After identifying and removing two outliers, noninferiority was proven with a mean difference of the point estimate, –2.2%. The findings support the use of a higher dose for improved antimicrobial coverage to help prevent postop endophthalmitis, the researchers concluded. The study appears in the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
- More ophthalmologic symptoms were found in patients with Parkinson’s disease compared with controls in an observational, cross-sectional, multicenter study, reported Carlijn Borm and coresearchers. A total of 848 patients with Parkinson’s disease and 250 healthy controls completed the Visual Impairment in Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire (VIPD-Q), which addresses the ocular surface, intraocular, oculomotor, and optic nerve. The questionnaire also focuses on the effect of ophthalmic symptoms on daily activities. In 82% of patients, there were one or more ophthalmologic symptoms compared with 48% of controls (P˂0.001). There also were more ophthalmologic symptoms across all domains compared with the controls, reflected by a higher VIPD-Q total score among patients than controls. The eye symptoms interfered with daily activities in 68% of patients compared with 35% of controls (P˂0.001). A screening questionnaire like the VIPD-Q may help to pinpoint eye symptoms in Parkinson’s disease and lead to more timely treatment, the researchers concluded. The study is published in Neurology.
This issue of EyeWorld Weekly was edited by Stacy Jablonski and Vanessa Caceres.
EyeWorld Weekly (ISSN 1089-0319), a digital publication of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS), is published every Friday, distributed by email, and posted live on Friday.
Medical Editors: Eric Donnenfeld, MD, Chief Medical Editor; Rosa Braga-Mele, MD, Cataract Editor; Clara Chan, MD, Cornea Editor; Nathan Radcliffe, MD, Glaucoma Editor; and Vance Thompson, MD, Refractive Editor
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