Purpose To analyse the clinical outcome in patients with meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) who underwent intense pulsed light (IPL) plus low-level light therapy (LLL). Materials and Methods The prospective non-comparative study included identified by MGD patients with altered interferometry and lower loss area of the meibomian glands (LAMG), who underwent IPL plus LLL, between July 2020 and August 2020. A multimodal assessment was performed before, 2–3 weeks, and 6 months after treatment. The main outcome was lipid layer thickness (LLT) and the secondary outcomes were the ocular surface disease index (OSDI) score, presence of corneal fluorescein staining (CFS), blink rate (BR), Schirmer test (ST), tear meniscus height (TMH), tear osmolarity (OSM), non-invasive break-up time (NIBUT) and LAMG. Results This study included 62 eyes of 31 patients, 61.3% female, with a mean age of 66.94±9.08 years at the time of IPL plus LLL treatment. LLT (<0.001) grades improved 6 months after treatment. The mean OSDI score improved (p<0.001) from 45.02±21.17 (severe symptoms) to 22.35±17.68 (moderate symptoms) at 2–3 weeks and 8.24±17.9.91 (normal) at 6 months after treatment. CFS was identified in 51.6% (32/62) before and in 45.2% (28/62) 6 months (p=0.293) after treatment. ST (p=0.014) grades improved; OSM grades mild worsened (p<0.001); TMH, NIBUT and LAMG grades did not modify 6 months after treatment. No patient suffered any adverse effects. Conclusion IPL combined with LLL was effective and safe, improving the lipid layer thickness in MGD and decreasing the level of symptoms.

To evaluate the long-term results of iris-fixated foldable phakic intraocular lens (pIOL) implantation for the management of myopia and astigmatism.

Purpose: The primary objective of this study was to better understand the epidemiological risk factors associated with severe eye injury of patients and the secondary objective was to evaluate functional outcomes of these severe eye injuries. Methods: A retrospective, noncomparative cohort study of severe ocular trauma, in patients assessed in an emergency room from January 2004 to December 2018 at Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Porto was performed and statistically analyzed. Results: This study included a total of 751 patients (758 eyes) suffering ocular trauma. Men had a higher rate of ocular trauma than women (81.4% vs 18.6%). The mean age was 48.9 years old. The most common types of injury were rupture (33.8%) and penetrating (20.9%). Work-related accidents were responsible for 19.3% of injuries. Home was the most common location of trauma (46.3%). In 8.8% of trauma the best corrected visual acuity at presentation was superior to 20/40 while in 6.5% of cases no light perception (NLP) was registered. In 44.8% of trauma the best corrected visual acuity at last follow-up visit (BCVAF) was superior to 20/40 while in 15.7% of cases NLP was registered. Conclusion: The epidemiological high-risk factors identified were: adult males, economic crisis, home, blunt objects in man and falls in woman. Future primary prevention should take into account these factors. This study also demonstrated an important visual impairment associated with severe ocular trauma, even with timely surgical treatment, with BCVAF of NLP in 15.7% of cases.

In the context of NI CADRs, we showed high reproducibility of positive patch test reactions to various antibiotics, even after several years.

Objective To evaluate the surgical outcomes of patients with hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (TTR-FAP) who underwent Ahmed glaucoma valve (AGV) implantation. Methods A retrospective cohort study was performed on patients with a diagnosis of TTR-FAP secondary glaucoma, who underwent AGV implantation in our department, between November 2010 and July 2019. The cumulative probability of treatment success was measured with Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. The primary outcome was success, defined as intraocular pressure (IOP) ≥ 6 mmHg and ≤21 mmHg with or without medication, with no need for further glaucoma surgery and without loss of light perception at last follow-up. Secondary outcomes were postoperative IOP, number of IOP-lowering medications, and rates of complications. ResultsThe study included 114 eyes of 87 patients. The mean follow-up duration was 3.81 ± 2.11 years (y) [range, 1.00-8.28 y]. Compared to the preoperative values, the mean IOP was reduced from 28.20 ± 7.01 to 12.87 ± 3.76 mmHg at the final visit (p < 0.001), with a reduction in the number of medications from 3.89 ± 0.66 to 1.86 ± 1.43 (p < 0.001). Early and late postoperative complications occurred in 20 (17.09%) and 9 (7.89%) eyes, respectively. Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated probabilities of success of 0.98 at 1 y, 0.97 at 2 y, 0.95 at 3 y, 0.89 at 4 y, 0.77 at 5 y and 0.72 at 6 y. The linear correlation analysis showed a correlation between some characteristics of the natural history of TTR-FAP patients and AGV implantation success. Conclusion Although glaucoma in TTR-FAP patients is very difficult to manage, AGV implantation is an effective and relatively safe procedure.

Rare disease registries increase research accessibility for patients, while providing clinicians/investigators with a coherent data ecosystem necessary to boost research and patient care. The IRD-PT registry is a national, web-based, interoperable registry for inherited retinal degenerations (IRDs) designed to generate scientific knowledge and collect high-quality data on the epidemiology, genomic landscape and natural history of IRDs in Portugal. In two years, the number of enrolled patients almost doubled (537 to 1060). Still, the registry has a lower-than-expected adoption rate, with only 4 centers across Portugal actively enrolling patients. This highlights a strong need to understand factors that may be hindering the registry’s nationwide adoption. The purpose of this manuscript is to analyze challenges, facilitators and barriers to the adoption and use of the IRD-PT registry, and to discuss avenues for improvement, focusing on keeping the registry sustainable in the long run. We believe that this exercise may help other rare disease registries to improve user adherence and engagement, ultimately contributing to develop more sustainable and successful registries in the field.

Purpose: To compare the choroidal characteristics between the eyes of patients with and without hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis.Methods: Case-control observational study with choroidal thickness and vasculature evaluation by optical coherence tomography with enhanced depth imaging protocol of the macula.Results: The study included 332 eyes: 166 eyes of hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis patients and 166 eyes of healthy patients. Mean age was similar between groups (P = 0.979). For hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis patients, on average, in all sectors analyzed (in the full 5 mm-width image [G] and also in 1-mm-width central [C], nasal [N], and temporal [T] sectors), there was a higher stromal area, a lower choroidal thickness, and a lower choroidal vascularity index, compared with the control group. The linear mixed models revealed no differences according to the systemic treatment groups.Conclusion: Hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis patients showed statistically significant differences in choroidal characteristics, compared with eyes without pathology. These age-related and statistically significant changes compared with the healthy eyes may help in the future to better monitor the systemic hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis disease and complement other systemic evaluations, including on clinical trials to analyze more objectively, the results of new therapies.

Background The variable visual function observed in diabetic retinopathy (DR) patients is not fully explained by the classic staging system. Our purpose was to evaluate choroidal changes, in standardized sectors, in DR patients and to find associations between choroidal measurements and visual function. Methods Cross-sectional study that included the right eye of diabetic patients (n = 265) without active edema, ischemia or neovascularization and age-matched controls (n = 73). Optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging was performed with enhanced depth imaging protocol. Choroidal vascularity index (CVI) was calculated in a 5 mm scan centered in the fovea. Results CVI decreased with age (p < 0.001) but was not influenced by axial length. A multivariate analysis adjusting for age confirmed a significant difference in CVI between DR eyes that had previous treatments (intravitreal injections and/or photocoagulation) compared to control eyes (p = 0.013) and to DR eyes that never required treatment (p = 0.002). There was no significant difference between non-DR diabetic patients and normal controls. Considering the group of DR patients that had previous treatments, in eyes without optic media opacification, BCVA correlated with CVI (r = − 0.362, p < 0.001), whereas full retina thickness and individual retinal layer thickness did not (p > 0.066). Conclusions A reduction in CVI was observed in patients with a more advanced stage of DR. In treated DR patients with stable disease, choroidal biomarkers correlated with best-corrected visual acuity whereas retinal biomarkers did not. Trial registration: N/A