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Objectives This report aims to provide clear recommendations and practical guidance from a panel of UK retinal experts on an aflibercept treat-and-extend (T&E) pathway that can be implemented in clinical practice. These recommendations may help service providers across the NHS intending to implement a T&E approach, with the aim of effectively addressing the capacity and resource issues putting strain on UK neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) services while promoting patients' best interests throughout. Methods Two structured roundtable meetings of retinal specialists were held in London, UK on 7 December 2018 and 1 March 2019. These meetings were organised and funded by Bayer. Results The panel provided recommendations for an aflibercept T&E pathway and developed specific criteria based on visual acuity, retinal morphology and optical coherence tomography imaging to guide reduction, maintenance and extension of injection intervals. They also discussed the extension of treatment intervals by 2-or 4-week adjustments to a maximum treatment interval of 16 weeks, the management of retinal fluid and the stopping of treatment. Conclusions The long-term benefits of implementing a T&E pathway may include superior visual outcomes compared with a pro re nata (PRN; as needed) protocol, and a lower treatment burden compared with a fixed protocol, which is likely to improve service capacity. Furthermore, the predictable nature of a T&E approach compared with a PRN service may aid capacity planning for the future nAMD treatment demand.

Background The WHO's Vision 2020 global initiative against blindness, launched in 2000, prioritises children. Progress has been hampered by the global paucity of epidemiological data about childhood visual disability. The British Childhood Visual Impairment and Blindness Study 2 (BCVIS2) was undertaken to address this evidence gap. Methods UK-wide prospective population-based observational study of all those aged under 18 years newly diagnosed with visual impairment or blindness between Oct 1, 2015 and Nov 1 2016. Eligible children were notified simultaneously but independently by their managing ophthalmologists and paediatricians via the two national active surveillance schemes, the British Ophthalmic and Paediatric Surveillance Units. Standardised detailed data were collected at diagnosis and one year later. Incidence estimates and relative rates by key sociodemographic factors were calculated. Descriptive analyses were undertaken of underlying ophthalmic disorders and nonophthalmic comorbidities. FindingsOf 784 cases, 72% had additional non-ophthalmic impairments/disorders and 4% died within the year. Annual incidence was highest in the first year of life, 5•2 per 10,000 (95% CI 4•7-5•7) with cumulative incidence by 18 years of 10•0 per 10,000 (95% CI 9•4 to 10•8). Rates were higher for those from any ethnic minority group, the lowest quintile of socio-economic status, born preterm or with low birthweight. Only 44% had a single ophthalmic condition: disorders of the brain/visual pathways affected 48% overall. Prenatal or perinatal aetiological factors accounted for 84% of all conditions. InterpretationBCVIS2 provides a contemporary snapshot of the heterogeneity, multi-morbidity and vulnerability associated with childhood visual disability in a high income country, and the arising complex needs. These findings will facilitate developing and delivering healthcare and planning interventional research. They highlight the importance of including childhood visual disability as a sentinel event and metric in global child health initiatives.

Acute chemical eye injuries are rare. Male patients in the working age group are more prone to work-related chemical injuries, whereas young children tend to have domestic injuries. Grade I, II, and III RH and Dua chemical injuries had a very good prognosis with topical treatment only, whereas RH grade IV (Dua grade IV-VI), mainly assaults with ammonia, progressed to total/severe LSCD despite appropriate management including early amniotic membrane transplantation. The Dua classification includes conjunctival involvement, having a greater value in predicting the final clinical outcome when grading chemical eye injuries.

Objectives DRAKO (NCT02850263) is a 24-month, prospective, non-interventional, multi-centre cohort study which enroled patients diagnosed with centre-involving diabetic macular oedema (DMO). The study aims to evaluate standard of care with intravitreal aflibercept (IVT-AFL) treatment in the UK. This analysis describes the anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) treatment-naive patient cohort after 12-month follow-up. Methods Study eyes were treated with IVT-AFL as per local standard of care. The mean change in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central subfield thickness (CST) from baseline at 12 months were measured and stratified by baseline factors. The number of injections and safety data were also evaluated. Results A total of 507 patients were enroled from 35 centres. Mean (SD) baseline BCVA was 71.4 (12.0) letters and CST was 448.7 (88.7) µm, with 63.1% of patients presenting with baseline BCVA ≥ 70 letters (mean 78.1). Mean (SD) change in BCVA of 2.5 (12.2) letters and CST of −119.1 (116.4) µm was observed at month 12. A 7.3 letter gain was observed in patients with baseline BCVA < 70 letters. Mean number (SD) of injections in year one was 6.4 (2.1). No significant adverse events were recorded. Conclusion Year one results indicated that IVT-AFL was an effective treatment for DMO in standard of care UK clinical practice, maintaining or improving visual acuity in treatment-naive patients with good baseline visual acuity, despite some patients being undertreated versus the summary of product characteristics. These results also demonstrated the clinical importance and meaningful impact of diabetic retinopathy screening in the UK.