The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has made alcohol-based hand sanitizers (ABHS) widely available in public places. This may warrant determining whether cases of unintentional ocular exposure are increasing, especially in children.OBJECTIVE To describe the epidemiologic trend of pediatric eye exposures to ABHS and to report the severity of the ocular lesions. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSRetrospective case series conducted from April 1, 2020, to August 24, 2020. Cases were retrieved from the national database of the French Poison Control Centers (PCC) and from a pediatric ophthalmology referral hospital in Paris, France. Cases of ocular exposure to chemical agents in children younger than 18 years during the study period were reviewed. Cases of ABHS exposure were included.EXPOSURES The following data were collected: age, sex, circumstances of exposure, symptoms, size of the epithelial defect at first examination, time between the incident and re-epithelialization, and medical and/or surgical management. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURESComparison of the number of eye exposures to ABHS in children between April to August 2020 and April to August 2019. RESULTSBetween April 1 and August 24, 2020, there were 7 times more pediatric cases of ABHS eye exposures reported in the PCC database compared with the same period in 2019 (9.9% of pediatric eye exposures in 2020 vs 1.3% in 2019; difference, 8.6%; 95% CI, 7.4-9.9; P < .001). The number of cases occurring in public places increased in 2020 (from 16.4% in May to 52.4% in August). Similarly, admissions to the eye hospital for ABHS exposure increased at the same period (16 children in 2020 including 10 boys; mean [SD] age, 3.5 [1.4] years vs 1 boy aged 16 months in 2019). Eight of them presented with a corneal and/or conjunctival ulcer, involving more than 50% of the corneal surface for 6 of them. Two cases required amniotic membrane transplant.CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE These data support the likelihood of an increasing number of unintentional ocular exposures to ABHS in the pediatric population. To maintain good public compliance with hand disinfection, these findings support that health authorities should ensure the safe use of these devices and warn the parents and caregivers about their potential danger for children.
IMPORTANCE Temporal macular involvement in sickle cell disease can now easily be detected by optical coherence tomography (OCT). However, while recent studies have demonstrated its high prevalence, little is known about its potential consequences on visual function.OBJECTIVE To assess the visual function of patients with sickle cell disease with no visual symptoms despite temporal macular atrophy. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSThis retrospective case series included data collection and explorations made in a single referral center for sickle cell disease in 2016. Three patients with sickle cell disease exhibiting preserved visual acuity but showing temporal macular retinal atrophy were included.EXPOSURES Patients underwent the following explorations: best-corrected distance and near visual acuity evaluation; dilated fundus examination; OCT with 12 × 6-mm thickness map; horizontal, vertical, and en face sections; OCT angiography of the 6 × 6-mm perifoveal retina; 30°and 12°central visual fields; Lanthony 15-hue color vision test; automated static contrast sensitivity test; and global electroretinography. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURESThe OCT thickness maps were checked for areas of retinal thinning, appearing as blue patches. When present, these areas were compared with the areas of superficial and deep capillary flow loss on OCT angiography and with the scotomas on visual fields. Contrast sensitivity and color vision loss were quantified.RESULTS All 3 patients included had homozygous sickle cell disease. They presented with a 20/20 distance visual acuity, and Parinaud 1,5 near visual acuity in both eyes. They were all followed up for a severe cerebral vasculopathy related to sickle cell disease. The areas of atrophy involved the inner retinal layers and were associated with an absence of signal in the deep capillary plexuses in OCT angiography. These patches of retinal thinning were also matching with scotomas in the automated visual fields. Color vision ability and contrast sensitivity were impaired in all patients. Global electroretinography findings were normal.CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Temporal macular atrophy in sickle cell disease may have direct consequences on visual function, including in children, even when visual acuity is preserved. Optical coherence tomographic imaging may be warranted when evaluating patients with sickle cell disease, even if asymptomatic with 20/20 visual acuity.
Paramacular temporal atrophy occurs early in the course of SCD, which suggests distinct mechanisms from those of peripheral retinopathy.
Purpose: CHARGE syndrome (CS) is a multiple malformative syndrome in which ocular colobomas cause visual impairment. Data are lacking regarding visual function because classical methods for visual acuity (VA) assessment are often not applicable in patients with CS. We evaluated vision in a pilot study of patients with CS by using a new questionnaire entitled VISIOCHARGE. Methods: Ophthalmological data including fundus description and VA, when available, were extracted from charts of 83 patients with CS, and VISIOCHARGE was prospectively sent to 55 of them. The answers of the 36 responders (18 males) allowed for calculating 3 scores assessing distance-vision, near-vision, and an "overall ability" score. Results: Visual acuity measurements were extracted from the charts of 20 of the 36 patients. The mean VA was 20/50. The mean distance-vision score of 0.62 (SD 0.30) and near-vision score of 0.78 (SD 0.23) were correlated with VA in the 20 patients (ρ=0.64, p=0.002 and ρ=0.61, p=0.005, respectively) and were associated with the severity of the colobomatous malformation (p=0.049 and p=0.008, respectively). Severity of the ocular malformation was not associated with overall ability score (p=0.64). Conclusions: VISIOCHARGE is feasible in patients with CS and may help in the assessment of visual function. The mean VA and the answers to the questionnaire showed relatively good visual skills in these patients in everyday life, even in those with bilateral colobomas, which contrasts with the pessimistic conclusions usually resulting from the initial fundus examination.
AimsTo determine the incidence and risk factors of cystoid macular oedema (CMO) following descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) with or without combined cataract surgery (triple-DMEK).MethodsWe reviewed the records of patients who underwent DMEK surgery alone or triple-DMEK performed at the Rothschild Foundation Hospital (Paris, France) between January 2019 and March 2020. Patients with pre-existing CMO observed on the preoperative macular optical coherence tomography (OCT) were excluded. Spectral-domain OCT was performed in patients with postoperative visual impairment. Data regarding comorbidities, intraoperative characteristics and postoperative treatments or complications were collected and analysed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed.ResultsTwenty three of 246 eyes (9.36%) developed clinically significant (cs)-CMO after DMEK. Triple-DMEK was not associated with a higher risk to develop CMO (12.2% in DMEK alone and 6.1% in triple-DMEK). Pseudophakic bullous keratopathy (PBK ; 39.1% vs 9%; OR=3.5 (1.0 to 11.8), p=0.045) and epiretinal membrane (ERM; 39.1% vs 7.7%; OR=10.5 (3.4 to 32.3), p<0.001) were more frequently observed in patients who developed CMO. The occurrence of hyphaema during surgery was statistically associated with postoperative CMO (13% vs 1.3%; OR=7.1 (1.0 to 48.8) p=0.045). Peroperative epithelial debridement was statistically associated with postoperative CMO (65.2% vs 33.2%, p=0.005), but only in univariate analysis.ConclusionsWe identified a clinically significant CMO incidence of 9.35% after DMEK. Patients with a history of ERM, PBK and intraoperative hyphaema may be at risk of developing CMO after DMEK surgery and should be monitored.
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