Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is among the most common causes of childhood blindness. Three phases of ROP epidemics have been observed worldwide since ROP was first described in the 1940s. Despite advances in neonatal care, the occurrence of ROP and associated visual impairment has been increasing somewhere on Earth and remains difficult to control. Conventional treatment options for preventing ROP progression include retinal ablation using cryotherapy or laser therapy. With the emergence of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) treatment for ocular diseases, the efficacy and safety of anti-VEGF therapy for ROP have recently been actively discussed. In the advanced stage of ROP with retinal detachment, surgical treatment including scleral buckling or vitrectomy is needed to maintain or induce retinal attachment. At this stage, the visual outcome is usually poor despite successful anatomical retinal attachment. Therefore, preventing ROP progression by timely screening examinations and treatment remains the most important part of ROP management.

To study the clinical features of endogenous endophthalmitis (EE) in sample patient populations from the USA and South Korea over an 8-year period. We reviewed data from 128 eyes of 60 American and 48 Korean patients diagnosed with EE and compared their clinical characteristics. Fungemia and liver abscess were the most common extraocular infection sources among American (26.7%) and Korean patients (33.3%), respectively. Klebsiella pneumoniae and Candida species were the most common pathogens of EE in the Korean and the American patients, respectively. Endophthalmitis caused by fungi had a better visual prognosis than that caused by bacteria (p = 0.001). Vitrectomy was beneficial for eyes with EE due to virulent bacteria presenting with worse than counting finger vision. The predisposing conditions and responsible organisms for EE vary in different regions of the world. The visual prognosis was strongly influenced by the underlying pathogen.

Purpose: To compare postvitrectomy retinal and choroidal vessel density (VD) and retinal layer thickness between eyes with macula-off and macula-on rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) using swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) and to identify OCTA factors associated with visual outcomes. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 31 eyes that underwent pars plana vitrectomy for primary RRD. Eyes with macula-off and macula-on RRD were compared with healthy fellow eyes. Both OCT and OCTA were performed 6 months after surgery, and the macula-off RRD group was divided into two subgroups according to the presence of an outer retinal defect. The correlations between postoperative best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at 6 months and SS-OCT and OCTA measurements were analyzed. Results: Twenty eyes with macula-off RRD and 11 eyes with macula-on RRD were included. In the macula-off RRD group, the central retinal thickness was significantly decreased 6 months postoperatively compared with the fellow eyes (228.9 ± 29.7 µm and 253.6 ± 27.7 µm, P = 0.009). In the outer retinal defect group, the choriocapillaris plexus (CCP) VD was significantly decreased compared with the fellow eyes (56.4% ± 4.8% and 60.2% ± 4.0%, P = 0.026). In the macula-off RRD group, the postoperative BCVA at 6 months correlated significantly with the ratio of the center CCP VD of the detached eyes to that of the fellow eyes (R² = 0.207, P = 0.025). Conclusions: The CCP VD could be related to the anatomical restoration of the outer retinal layer in macula-off RRD. The CCP VD as determined by OCTA could be an indicator of the visual outcome after surgery in macula-off RRD.

Shin JW, et al. Korean J Ophthalmol. 2012 Aug;26(4):255-259. https://doi.org/10.3341/kjo.2012.26.4.255