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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to report the functional and anatomical outcomes of a prospective study resulting from repeated dexamethasone intravitreal implants in patients with uveitic refractory macular edema. Methods: Twelve eyes of 9 patients with intermediate and posterior noninfectious inflammatory uveitis complicated with refractory macular edema were regularly reviewed after a dexamethasone intravitreal implant. Patients were examined at baseline, 30, 90, 135, and 180 days with best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), complete slit-lamp examination, intraocular pressure (IOP), optical coherence tomography, and fluorescein angiography. After 6 months of follow-up, eyes were reassessed to receive a second implant. Results: BCVA significantly improved when comparing the baseline values after the first and second implant (16.2 and 25.8 letters, respectively, 9.6 letters improvements, p<0.05). BCVA was better after the second implant compared to the first one throughout the follow-up, but without statistical significance. Mean central macular thickness (CMT) was 446.3±129.9 µm at baseline and was significantly reduced until day 135 (p<0.05). CMT reductions after the second injection showed a similar pattern, though differences were not statistically significant. Cataract progression was observed in 4 of 8 phakic eyes (50%) after the first implant, and in 2 of 3 phakic eyes following the second implant, with 1 eye requiring cataract surgery. One eye developed an IOP .30 mmHg 30 days after the second implant, treated topically. Conclusion: Repeated dexamethasone intravitreal implants in uveitic patients with refractory macular edema can be used effectively in a clinical setting with an acceptable safety profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess the safety and efficacy of one, two, or three trabecular microbypass stents in eyes with primary open-angle glaucoma (OAG) not controlled on ocular hypotensive medication. A total of 119 subjects were followed for 18 months postoperatively. Materials and methods: Subjects with medicated intraocular pressure (IOP) 18-30 mmHg and postmedication-washout baseline IOP 22-38 mmHg were randomized to implantation of one, two, or three stents. Ocular hypotensive medication was to be used if postoperative IOP exceeded 18 mmHg. Results: A total of 38 subjects were implanted with one stent, 41 subjects with two stents, and 40 subjects with three stents. Both month 12 IOP reduction ≥20% without ocular hypotensive medication vs baseline unmedicated IOP and month 12 unmedicated IOP ≤18 mmHg were achieved by 89.2%, 90.2%, and 92.1% of one-, two-, and three-stent eyes, respectively. Furthermore, 64.9%, 85.4%, and 92.1% of the three respective groups achieved unmedicated IOP ≤15 mmHg. Over the 18-month follow-up period, medication was required in seven one-stent subjects, four two-stent subjects, and three three-stent subjects. At 18 months, mean unmedicated IOP was 15.9±0.9 mmHg in one-stent subjects, 14.1±1.0 mmHg in two-stent subjects, and 12.2±1.1 mmHg in three-stent subjects. Month 18 IOP reduction was significantly greater (P<0.001) with implantation of each additional stent, with mean differences in reduction of 1.84 mmHg (95% confidence interval 0.96-2.73) for three-stent vs two-stent groups and 1.73 mmHg (95% confidence interval 0.83-2.64) for two-stent vs one-stent groups. Adverse events through 18 months were limited to cataract progression with best-corrected visual acuity loss and subsequent cataract surgery. Conclusion: In this series, implantation of each additional stent resulted in significantly greater IOP reduction with reduced medication use. Titratability of stents as a sole procedure was shown to be effective and safe, with sustained effect through 18 months postoperatively in OAG not controlled with medication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate frequency, conversion rate, and risk factors for blindness in glaucoma patients treated in European Universities. Methods: This multicenter retrospective study included 2402 consecutive patients with glaucoma in at least one eye. Medical charts were inspected and patients were divided into those blind and the remainder (‘controls’). Blindness was defined as visual acuity≤0.05 and/or visual field loss to less than 10°. Results: Unilateral and bilateral blindness were respectively 11.0% and 1.6% at the beginning, and 15.5% and 3.6% at the end of the observation period (7.5±5.5 years, range:1–25 years); conversion to blindness (at least unilateral) was 1.1%/year. 134 eyes (97 patients) developed blindness by POAG during the study. At the first access to study centre, they had mean deviation (MD) of -17.1±8.3 dB and treated intraocular pressure (IOP) of 17.1±6.6 mmHg. During follow-up the IOP decreased by 14% in these eyes but MD deteriorated by 1.1±3.5 dB/year, which was 5-fold higher than controls (0.2±1.6 dB/year). In a multivariate model, the best predictors for blindness by glaucoma were initial MD (p<0.001), initial IOP (p<0.001), older age at the beginning of follow-up (p<0.001), whereas final IOP was found to be protective (p<0.05). Conclusions: In this series of patients, blindness occurred in about 20%. Blindness by glaucoma had 2 characteristics: late diagnosis and/or late referral, and progression of the disease despite in most cases IOP was within the range of normality and target IOP was achieved; it could be predicted by high initial MD, high initial IOP, and old age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare outcomes of subjects with open-angle glaucoma (OAG) not controlled on one medication who underwent either implantation of two iStent inject® trabecular micro-bypass devices or received medical therapy consisting of a fixed combination of latanoprost/timolol. Patients and methods: Of 192 subjects who qualified for the study and were enrolled, 94 were randomized to surgery with implantation of two iStent inject® devices in the treated eye and 98 to receive medical therapy. Results: At the month 12 visit, 94.7% of eyes (89/94) in the stent group reported an unmedicated intraocular pressure (IOP) reduction of ⩾20% versus baseline unmedicated IOP, and 91.8% of eyes (88/98) in the medical therapy group reported an IOP reduction ⩾20% versus baseline unmedicated IOP. A 17.5% between-group treatment difference in favor of the iStent inject group was statistically significant (P=0.02) at the ⩾50% level of IOP reduction. An IOP ⩽18 mmHg was reported in 92.6% of eyes (87/94) in the iStent inject group and 89.8% of eyes (88/98) in the medical therapy group. Mean (standard deviation) IOP decreases from screening of 8.1 (2.6) mmHg and 7.3 (2.2) mmHg were reported in the iStent inject and medical therapy groups, respectively. A high safety profile was also noted in this study in both the iStent inject and medical therapy groups, as measured by stable best corrected visual acuity, cup-to-disc ratio, and adverse events. Conclusion: These data show that the use of iStent inject is at least as effective as two medications, with the clinical benefit of reducing medication burden and assuring continuous treatment with full compliance to implant therapy as well as having a highly favorable safety profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]