To assess the possible correlation of anti-retinal antibody titers and number of anti-retinal antibodies with outcome measurements including visual acuity, subjective vision loss, visual field, and electroretinography in patients with autoimmune retinopathy. Design: Single-center, retrospective cross-sectional study. Patients and Methods: Patients with autoimmune retinopathy who underwent anti-retinal antibody testing at least twice during their follow-up were enrolled. Anti-retinal antibody titers and numbers were grouped as improved, stable, or worsened. Outcomes included Snellen visual acuity, patient-reported vision loss, Humphrey visual field mean deviations, and electroretinography parameters.Results: Thirty-one eyes among 16 patients with autoimmune retinopathy were included. Between-group analyses of visual acuity, subjective vision loss, visual field, and electroretinography outcomes did not reveal any significant differences by anti-retinal antibody titer or number group at a 95% confidence interval. Conclusion: Changes in anti-retinal antibody titers or numbers were not associated with any vision outcome. Repeated antiretinal antibody testing may be unnecessary after diagnosis of autoimmune retinopathy and detection of an anti-retinal antibody.
Purpose
To assess the effectiveness of a local infection control protocol for cataract surgery (CS) during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and determine the trend of CSs and visual outcomes during this period, as compared to the pre-COVID-19 pandemic period.
Methods
This study was conducted at Suddhavej Hospital, Mahasarakham University, Mahasarakham, Thailand, between July 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021. In this two-phase study, we used only a COVID-19-screening questionnaire during the first phase and preoperative nasopharyngeal swab severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) testing for real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction in the second phase, during Thailand’s second COVID-19 wave. Nasopharyngeal swab SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid testing, SARS-CoV-2 IgG/IgM, or anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike antibody seroconversion was used to detect COVID-19 infection among healthcare workers. We also compared cataract surgical volume and postoperative visual acuity of CS patients between the pre-COVID-19 period and during the COVID-19 pandemic period.
Results
A total of 947 patients underwent CS. Thirty-two healthcare workers and 275 patients tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 in the second study phase. CSs increased on average by 50.09% month-to-month when the surgery was resumed. The mean postoperative logMAR best-corrected visual acuity was significantly better in the COVID-19 pandemic period than in the pre-pandemic period (difference, 0.1 [95% CI: 0.00–0.12], p < 0.0001).
Conclusion
CS could be safely performed under an infection control protocol during the COVID-19 pandemic. The cataract surgical volume, with favorable visual outcomes, has an increasing trend after resuming elective surgeries.
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