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A dark‐field ophthalmic contact probe for analysis of aqueous humor (AH) was designed by ray tracing and constructed in quartz glass for experimental use as a prototype probe in a confocal Raman spectroscopic setup. The misalignment tolerance of this probe was theoretically evaluated, whereas the optical performance was experimentally evaluated by a concentration curve of the ocular drug phenylephrine HCl in an artificial eye model. The results indicated a ninefold improvement in misalignment tolerance and a 36‐fold improvement in the signal‐to‐noise ratio at the phenylephrine HCl 1002 cm−1 peak compared with a previous design. The prototype showed a good linear fit with the phenylephrine HCl concentration, with an R2 of 0.996. Phenylephrine HCl concentration down to 0.1% is detectable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Purpose: To evaluate long‐term outcomes on efficacy and safety of severe uveitic glaucoma treated with a Baerveldt glaucoma implant (BGI). Methods: A retrospective study of 47 eyes of 47 patients with uveitic glaucoma treated by a BGI between September 2002 and September 2015. Main outcome measures were intraocular pressure (IOP), number of glaucoma medications, course of the uveitis, visual acuity (VA) and complications. Results: Mean IOP dropped from 30.6 ± 8.1 mmHg with 3.6 ± 1.1 glaucoma medications at baseline to 10.6 ± 4.3 mmHg with 1.0 ± 1.3 glaucoma medications after a mean follow‐up of 63.6 ± 43.1 months. In the majority of cases, IOP remained stable during follow‐up. However, especially in several patients with viral uveitis, episodes with IOP peaks were observed during a flare‐up despite a functioning implant. These peaks remained below preoperative levels. During follow‐up, 16 patients (34%) experienced a clinically significant VA loss, mainly because of late‐stage glaucoma or hypotony maculopathy. Early postoperative complications were transient choroidal effusion (n = 5), shallow/flat anterior chamber (n = 4), hyphaema (n = 2) and suprachoroidal haemorrhage (n = 1). The most important late postoperative complication was hypotony maculopathy (n = 5), three of these in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) patients. Conclusion: The BGI is an effective and safe treatment for patients with refractive secondary glaucoma due to uveitis. In a majority of patients, VA remains stable and a low and stable IOP is maintained over time with an acceptable number of complications. In particular, patients with viral uveitis and glaucoma should be closely monitored for IOP peaks that may occur during episodes of a flare‐up of uveitis, whereas at the other end of the spectrum, patients with JIA seem much more prone to hypotony maculopathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]