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Patients with RRD on the first eye have a 100 times greater risk of developing RRD on the second eye, and the risk increases with male gender and surgery on the lens but decreases with age.

Purpose: To report symptoms and ocular pathology in 13 patients exposed to light from laser pointers. Methods: We conducted a multi-centre consecutive case series from eight ophthalmology departments. Results: Eleven boys aged 9-15 years and two girls aged 7 (sister of one of the aforementioned boys) and 12 years, respectively, were included. Laser wavelengths were 572 nm (green), 450 nm (blue), and red laser of unknown wavelength. Output powers were between 5 and 5000 mW. Evaluation included slit lamp examination, colour fundus photography (CFP), and optical coherence tomography (OCT). All subjects complained of unilateral vision loss. Initial visual acuities in exposed eyes ranged from 0.05 to 1.0 Snellen equivalent or better. Nine subjects showed pathology on CFP and OCT abnormalities. One subject had a macular hole, which closed after vitrectomy. Long-term visual acuity ranged from 0.3 to 1.0 Snellen equivalent or better. Conclusion: High-powered laser pointers have become readily available on the internet, and they have the potential to induce lasting visual loss. More than half of the published laser pointer maculopathy cases since the first incidence in 1999 have been published in 2014-2017. We suspect that incidence of exposure and subsequent visual loss is rising, and we encourage national legislators to regulate this market.

PurposeTo study the development over time of the age‐ and sex‐standardized incidence of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) in Denmark.MethodsRegistry study, based on the Danish National Patient Registry data. End‐point: Individuals undergoing the first surgery for RRD.ResultsDuring 2000–2016 we identified 11 769 individuals with a primary RRD surgery in either eye. The age‐ and sex‐standardized incidence rate of RRD increased by more than 50% during the study period. We found a significant increase in this incidence rate for both men and women older than 50 years, and in men, but not in women, younger than 50 years (p < 0.001). However, the increase of primary RRD surgery during the study period was most pronounced in men aged 50 years or older, where the rate of increase was 1.7 ± 0.1 cases per 100 000 person‐years per year (p < 10−11).ConclusionThe incidence of RRD is increasing, and this increase is primarily driven by men aged 50 years or older.

ABSTRACT.Purpose: To study the epidemiology and mortality in patients who had cataract surgery in public hospitals and private hospitals/clinics in Denmark between 2004 and 2012 and to assess the validity of the Danish cataract registries. Methods: Register-and chart-based study. Results: A total of 411 140 cataract operations were performed in 243 856 patients. Patients who had cataract surgery in public hospitals had an overall statistically significantly 62% higher mortality compared to patients who had cataract surgery in private hospitals/clinics. The decrease in mean age at first eye cataract surgery in private hospitals/clinics was statistically significantly greater compared to the decrease in mean age at first eye cataract surgery in public hospitals (p < 0.001). The median time interval between first and second eye cataract surgery decreased statistically significantly during the study period (p < 0.001) and was statistically significantly shorter in all calendar years for patients operated in private hospitals/clinics compared to patients operated in public hospitals (p < 0.001). In all, 46% of the cataract operations performed in private hospitals/clinics that led to cases of postoperative endophthalmitis were not registered in any registry. Conclusion: In general, patients who had cataract surgery in private hospitals/ clinics were healthier, had first eye cataract surgery at an increasingly younger age and had a reduced time interval between cataract surgeries in the two eyes compared to patients who had cataract surgery in public hospitals. The lack of registration of cataract surgery by the private hospitals/clinics limits the quality of the registries.

Advances in genomics have the potential to revolutionize clinical diagnostics. Here, we examine the microbiome of vitreous (intraocular body fluid) from patients who developed endophthalmitis following cataract surgery or intravitreal injection. Endophthalmitis is an inflammation of the intraocular cavity and can lead to a permanent loss of vision. As controls, we included vitreous from endophthalmitis-negative patients, balanced salt solution used during vitrectomy and DNA extraction blanks. We compared two DNA isolation procedures and found that an ultraclean production of reagents appeared to reduce background DNA in these low microbial biomass samples. We created a curated microbial genome database (>5700 genomes) and designed a metagenomics workflow with filtering steps to reduce DNA sequences originating from: (i) human hosts, (ii) ambiguousness/contaminants in public microbial reference genomes and (iii) the environment. Our metagenomic read classification revealed in nearly all cases the same microorganism that was determined in cultivation- and mass spectrometry-based analyses. For some patients, we identified the sequence type of the microorganism and antibiotic resistance genes through analyses of whole genome sequence (WGS) assemblies of isolates and metagenomic assemblies. Together, we conclude that genomics-based analyses of human ocular body fluid specimens can provide actionable information relevant to infectious disease management.

Endogenous endophthalmitis is a heterogeneous condition which is reflected in the age, the visual outcome and the mortality of the patients. The epidemiology of the disease is very different in Scandinavia compared to Asia. The visual prognosis remains grave and the majority of the eyes lose useful vision.

Advances in genomics have the potential to revolutionize clinical diagnostics. Here, we 20 examine the microbiome of vitreous (intraocular body fluid) from patients who developed 21 endophthalmitis following cataract surgery or intravitreal injection. Endophthalmitis is an 22 inflammation of the intraocular cavity and can lead to a permanent loss of vision. As 23 controls, we included vitreous from endophthalmitis-negative patients, balanced salt 24 solution used during vitrectomy, and DNA extraction blanks. We compared two DNA 25 isolation procedures and found that an ultraclean production of reagents appeared to 26 reduce background DNA in these low microbial biomass samples. We created a curated 27 microbial genome database (>5700 genomes) and designed a metagenomics workflow 28 with filtering steps to reduce DNA sequences originating from: i) human hosts, ii) 29 ambiguousness/contaminants in public microbial reference genomes, and iii) the 30 environment. Our metagenomic read classification revealed in nearly all cases the same 31 microorganism than was determined in cultivation-and mass spectrometry-based 32 analyses. For some patients, we identified the sequence type of the microorganism and 33 antibiotic resistance genes through analyses of whole genome sequence (WGS) 34 assemblies of isolates and metagenomic assemblies. Together, we conclude that 35 genomics-based analyses of human ocular body fluid specimens can provide actionable 36 information relevant to infectious disease management.