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Background: This study evaluated the effects of dexamethasone intravitreal implant on treatment-naïve branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO)-induced macular edema (ME), and the risk factors for earlier repeated treatment.Methods: Patients treated from 2013 to 2016 were enrolled. The patients' demographics, medical history, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and central retinal thickness (CRT) were recorded. Risk factors for repeated treatment were identified using a Cox proportional hazard model and logistic regression.Results: 29 patients (mean age: 58.64 ± 13.3 years) were included; 44.8% received only one injection, while 55.2% received two or more. The mean initial CRT was 457.8 ± 167.1 μm; the peak CRT and final CRT improved significantly to 248.9 ± 57.9 μm and 329.2 ± 115.1 μm, respectively. The peak BCVA improvement and final improvement were 29.5 ± 23.5 approximate ETDRS letters and 19.8 ± 24.4 letters, respectively, with 62.1% of patients improving by more than 15 letters. Older age, higher initial CRT, and diabetes were the risk factors for multiple injections.Conclusion: Dexamethasone intravitreal implant results in significant peak CRT and BCVA improvements, while older age, higher initial CRT, and diabetes are risk factors for repeated injections. The optimal retreatment schedule for these patients should be further explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. Patients with central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) typically present with acute visual impairment and metamorphopsia. The disease previously has been associated with psychological stress. Population-based cohort studies on the risk of CSC among patients with nonorganic sleep disturbance (NOSD) are limited. An early sign of psychiatric disorder was probably sleep disturbance. Furthermore, psychological stress may be caused by sleep disturbance. We investigated the relationship between NOSD and the incidence of CSC. Design. Longitudinal cohort study. Participants. We used the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database and collected the data of 53,743 NOSD patients without CSC between 2000 and 2005 as the study group. Four-fold controls were selected randomly from those without neither sleep disturbance nor a CSC history with frequency matching of age, sex, and index-year. Methods. The difference in sex, age group, comorbidities, and steroid use between the two groups was analyzed by the χ2 test. Cox-proportional hazard regression was utilized to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for comparison of the two groups. Kaplan–Meier analysis was applied to measure the cumulative incidence of CSC. Furthermore, the log-rank test was used to test the incidence difference between the two groups. Main Outcome Measures. The incidence rate of CSC in the following years until 2011 was detected. Results. During a mean follow-up of 7.36 ± 2.88 years, NOSD patients had a higher incidence of CSC than the controls (3.10 vs. 1.86 per 10,000 person-years; adjusted HR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.34–2.02). Men had a higher risk of CSC than women. Sensitivity analyses stratified by sex, age group, or comorbidity condition showed consistently that NOSD patients had a higher risk of CSC than their controls. Dose-response showed that higher NOSD severity had even higher CSC risk. Conclusions. NOSD is an independent indicator for the increased risk of subsequent CSC development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of dexamethasone intravitreal implant (Ozurdex) and identify risk factors for repeated treatment in patients with macula edema due to branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) or central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO).Methods: Patients followed up for at least 6 months were enrolled from 2013 to 2016. Dexamethasone intravitreal implant was given as the baseline treatment. For evaluation of dexamethasone intravitreal implant effects and complications, the demographics, medical history, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure, and central retinal thickness (CRT) were recorded. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard model and logistic regression were used to identify factors for repeated treatment.Results: Twenty-three BRVO and 11 CRVO patients were enrolled. There were 15 males and 19 females. Fifteen (44.12%) patients needed only one dexamethasone intravitreal implant. The peak CRT and BCVA significantly improved. Comparing single-injection with multiple-injection group, age and initial CRT more than 400 μm were significantly higher in the multiple-injection group. From multivariate logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards analysis, patients with age older than 55 years and initial CRT more than 400 μm had higher risk for multiple injections.Conclusions: Patients receiving as-needed schedule of dexamethasone intravitreal implant had significant peak CRT and BCVA improvement. Age older than 55 years and initial CRT more than 400 μm were significant risk factors associated with repeated dexamethasone intravitreal implant treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of myopia has rapidly increased in recent decades and has led to a considerable global public health concern. In this study, we elucidate the relationship between Kawasaki disease (KD) and the incidence of myopia. We used Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database to conduct a population-based cohort study. We identified patients diagnosed with KD and individuals without KD who were selected by frequency matched based on sex, age, and the index year. The Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to estimate the hazard ratio and 95% confidence intervals for the comparison of the 2 cohorts. The log-rank test was used to test the incidence of myopia in the 2 cohorts. A total of 532 patients were included in the KD cohort and 2128 in the non-KD cohort. The risk of myopia (hazard ratio, 1.31; 95% confidence interval, 1.08–1.58; P<0.01) was higher among patients with KD than among those in the non-KD cohort. The Cox proportional hazards regression model showed that irrespective of age, gender, and urbanization, Kawasaki disease was an independent risk factor for myopia. Patients with Kawasaki disease exhibited a substantially higher risk for developing myopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]