Outcomes of Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty Using Cornea From Elderly Donors Aged 80 Years and Older: In the Aftermath of Current Donor Shortage

imagePurpose:

The purpose of this study was to report the outcomes of Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) using corneas from elderly donors aged 80 years and older.

Methods:

Eighty eyes of 78 patients who underwent DMEK-only or DMEK combined with cataract extraction (triple-DMEK) with surgeon-prepared graft between April 2016 and March 2020 were reviewed. Corrected distance visual acuity, endothelial cell density (ECD), and endothelial cell loss after 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years were analyzed.

Results:

The mean donor age was 83.6 ± 3.7 years (range: 80–100 years), and the mean donor ECD was 2889 ± 177 cells/mm2 (range: 2604–3460 cells/mm2). The mean recipient age was 67.2 ± 6.9 years (range: 60–89 years), and the mean follow-up was 21 ± 11 months (range: 6–52 months). The mean corrected distance visual acuity improved from a preoperative value of 1.36 ± 0.67 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution to 0.22 ± 0.18 at 6 months (n = 75), 0.21 ± 0.2 at 1 year (n = 64), and 0.23 ± 0.3 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution at 2 years (n = 41), respectively (P

Quantifying Clinicians’ Diagnostic Uncertainty When Making Initial Treatment Decisions for Microbial Keratitis

imagePurpose:

There is a need to understand physicians’ diagnostic uncertainty in the initial management of microbial keratitis (MK). This study aimed to understand corneal specialists’ diagnostic uncertainty by establishing risk thresholds for treatment of MK that could be used to inform a decision curve analysis for prediction modeling.

Methods:

A cross-sectional survey of corneal specialists with at least 2 years clinical experience was conducted. Clinicians provided the percentage risk at which they would always or never treat MK types (bacterial, fungal, herpetic, and amoebic) based on initial ulcer sizes and locations (8 mm2 central).

Results:

Seventy-two of 99 ophthalmologists participated who were 50% female with an average of 14.7 (SD = 10.1) years of experience, 60% in academic practices, and 38% outside the United States. Clinicians reported they would “never” and “always” treat a

Autoantibodies Against Trisulfated Heparin Disaccharide and Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor-3 May Play a Role in the Pathogenesis of Neuropathic Corneal Pain

Purpose:

The aim of this study was to describe cases of patients with presumable dysimmune small-fiber neuropathy (SFN)-related neuropathic corneal pain (NCP), presenting with autoantibodies against trisulfated heparin disaccharide (TS-HDS) or fibr…