Background: Endogenous endophthalmitis is an infection of the eye secondary to sepsis, occurring in 0.04-0.5% of bacteremia or fungemia. Risk factors include intravenous drug abuse (IVDA), diabetes, indwelling catheters, and immune suppression. Many patients have known or suspected bacteremia or fungemia; however, culture yield is reported to be low (approximately 50%). The purpose of this study is to elucidate the yield of diagnostic evaluation including microbial cultures over a 6.5 year period at an academic center in the United States. Methods: Retrospective chart review of patients with endogenous endophthalmitis at the University of Florida from June 2011 to February 2018. Results: Included are 40 eyes of 35 patients. Endophthalmitis was secondary to an endogenous source in 23.5% of all endophthalmitis cases observed. Intraocular culture positivity was 28.6% overall but was 0% after initiation of systemic antibiotics. Most commonly identified organisms from the eye were coagulase-negative Staphylococcus and Candida. Blood culture positivity was 48.6%, most commonly Staphylococcus. IVDA was noted with increasing frequency as a risk factor. Diagnosis of endophthalmitis upon hospital admission was associated with a higher intraocular culture positivity (P = 0.040) and a shorter hospital stay (P = 0.035). Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were the highest yield imaging modalities; X-ray and non-ocular ultrasound were less diagnostically useful. Echocardiogram was positive by transesophageal route (TEE) in 22% and in 9% by transthoracic (TTE) testing. Following discharge from the hospital, 48.4% of patients failed to follow up with outpatient ophthalmology. Conclusions: Based on the results of this study, the interdisciplinary team should consider directed imaging, eye cultures prior to antimicrobial administration, thorough history for IVDA, and caution with premature discharge from the hospital.

Purpose To determine the force requirements to dispense a single drop from commonly prescribed brand and generic topical glaucoma medications and correlate these findings with pinch strength in a representative patient population. Patients and Methods Four bottles of each medication were tested: two in the vertical and two in the horizontal orientation. Bottles were housed in a customized force gauge apparatus designed to mimic ballpoint fingertip contact with a bottle tip. For all bottles, each of the first 10 dispensed drops was tested and then tests were performed in increments of 10 until the bottle was empty. For each tested drop, the maximum force and displacement were electronically measured. Concurrently, maximum pinch strength was measured on consecutive glaucoma patients. Results A total of 84 bottles from 21 bottle designs were tested. There was significant variability across the designs, with roughly a 7-fold (0.67–4.49 kilograms of force, kgf) and 4-fold (0.81–3.00 kgf) difference in force requirements in the vertical and horizontal positions, respectively. Of 53 enrolled patients in the glaucoma clinic, the mean pinch strength was 5.05 (range 1.23–10.4) and 4.82 (range 1.47–10.67) kgf for the right and left hands, respectively. Conclusions There is statistically significant variability in the force required to squeeze a drop from common glaucoma medications, and a representative sampling of clinic patients suggests that many likely struggle with the force requirements of several bottle designs. These data further support standardization of topical glaucoma drug delivery and design.

Netarsudil is a relatively new medication for the treatment of primary open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension. It has been associated with red eyes and burning after instillation. Reticular epitheliopathy is a relatively rare complication of netarsudil that has been described in patients with preexisting corneal edema. We report the case of a healthy 76-year-old woman who developed reticular epitheliopathy after full-thickness penetrating keratoplasty that completely resolved following discontinuation of the medication. In cases where netarsudil is initiated for treatment of glaucoma or, off-label, endothelial dysfunction, reticular epithelial edema should be considered in patients complaining of a decline in vision and severe pain.

Background : Endogenous endophthalmitis is an infection of the eye secondary to sepsis, occurring in 0.04-0.5% of bacteremia or fungemia. Risk factors include intravenous drug abuse (IVDA), diabetes, indwelling catheters, and immune suppression. Many patients have known or suspected bacteremia or fungemia; however, culture yield is reported to be low (approximately 50%). Methods: Retrospective chart review of patients with endogenous endophthalmitis at the University of Florida from June 2011 to February 2018. Results: Included are 40 eyes of 35 patients. Endophthalmitis was secondary to an endogenous source in 23.5% of all endophthalmitis cases observed. Intraocular culture positivity was 28.6% overall but was 0% after initiation of systemic antibiotics. Most commonly identified organisms from the eye were coagulase-negative Staphylococcus and Candida . Blood culture positivity was 48.6%, most commonly Staphylococcus . IVDA was noted with increasing frequency as a risk factor. Diagnosis of endophthalmitis upon hospital admission was associated with a higher intraocular culture positivity (P = 0.040) and a shorter hospital stay (P = 0.035). Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were the highest yield imaging modalities; X-ray and non-ocular ultrasound were less diagnostically useful. Echocardiogram was positive by transesophageal route (TEE) in 22% and in 9% by transthoracic (TTE) testing. Following discharge from the hospital, 48.4% of patients failed to follow up with outpatient ophthalmology. Conclusions: Based on the results of this study, the interdisciplinary team should consider directed imaging, eye cultures prior to antimicrobial administration, thorough history for IVDA, and caution with premature discharge from the hospital.

Précis When comparing patients on systemic immunosuppressive therapy to those without, there was no difference in IOP early after SLT; however, at one-year following SLT, IOP was higher in the immunosuppression group compared to controls. Purpose: To determine whether patients taking systemic immunosuppressive medications have a different intraocular pressure (IOP)-lowering response to selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) compared to a control group of patients. Patients and methods: All patients who underwent SLT at Mayo Clinic 2017–2021 were identified. Patients on systemic immunosuppressive medications at the time of SLT were compared to control patients not receiving systemic immunosuppressive medications. The primary endpoints of this study were the percentage IOP reduction at 1–2, 3–6, and 12 months. Additional analyses included percentage of patients who did not require additional therapy at each time-point. Results: There were 108 eyes of 72 patients that underwent SLT in the immunosuppressed group and 1997 eyes of 1417 patients in the control group. There was no significant difference in age-adjusted change in IOP between groups at the first post-operative visit 1-2 months following SLT (−18.8±20.7% vs. −16.0±16.5%, P=0.256) or 3–6 months following SLT (−15.2±21.6% vs. −18.3±23.2%, P=0.062). However, at 12 months following SLT, the IOP reduction in the immunosuppressive therapy group was significantly less compared to the control group (−15.1±21.2% vs. −20.3±22.9%, P=0.045). There was no difference between groups in number of additional treatments during the study intervals. Conclusion: Patients in the systemic immunosuppressive therapy group showed equivalent early IOP-lowering after SLT compared to a control group, but the treatment response was diminished at one year. Further studies investigating IOP regulation after SLT in immunosuppressed patients are needed.

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The authors describe a case of spontaneous globe rupture during instillation of perfluoro-n-octane (PFO) during retinal surgery. A 71-year-old male with a macular-involving rhegmatogenous retinal detachment underwent pars plana vitrectomy. During instillation of PFO manually on a single-bore cannula by the assisting resident, spontaneous globe rupture occurred superotemporally in an area with no visible underlying structural abnormalities. Factors that led to this complication include the use of single-bore cannula, error in judgment of resistance during PFO injection, and inexperience. This is the first report of this complication without an identifiable structural abnormality predisposing patient to perforation.