RETINA

IDENTIFICATION OF PATHOGENS IN THE INTRAOCULAR FLUID SAMPLES OF PATIENTS WITH ENDOGENOUS ENDOPHTHALMITIS USING RAPID NANOPORE TARGETED SEQUENCING

imageIn Brief:

Nanopore targeted sequencing showed a higher positivity rate and a shorter turnaround time than did traditional culture in identifying pathogens in the intraocular fluid samples of patients with endogenous endophthalmitis.

Purpose:

To evaluate the feasibility of clinical application of nanopore targeted sequencing (NTS) for the identification of pathogens in patients with endogenous endophthalmitis, especially those with fungus-associated endophthalmitis.

Methods:

In this retrospective study, medical records and etiological results of 27 patients (34 eyes) with endogenous endophthalmitis were reviewed. The intraocular fluid samples were examined using both NTS and microbial culture. The results included the differences in detection time, positivity rate of pathogen detection, and positivity rate of fungus identification between two methods.

Results:

NTS and microbial culture enabled the detection of etiologic agents in 89.28% and 35.71% of the samples, respectively. The difference of positivity rate between these methods was statistically significant (P

By Hao, Xinlei; Wang, Ming; Yuan, Man; Zhang, Rui; Jin, Wei; Yang, Anhuai, ago

OUTER RETINAL TUBULATION IN BIETTI CRYSTALLINE DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATED WITH THE RETINAL PIGMENT EPITHELIUM ATROPHY

imagePurpose:

To determine the prognostic value of outer retinal tubulation (ORT) in the eyes of a Chinese cohort with Bietti crystalline dystrophy (BCD).

Methods:

This retrospective, multicenter cohort study enrolled 42 patients with clinically and genetically diagnosed BCD. Eighty eyes with good-quality images of spectral domain optical coherence tomography were included. Demographic details and clinical data were collected. The characteristics of ORT, including prevalence, location, and morphologic characteristics were analyzed.

Results:

Forty-two patients with BCD harbored potentially CYP4V2 disease-causing mutations. The mutation spectrum comprised 17 unique variants, 9 of which were novel. Fifty-two of these 80 eyes demonstrated evidence of ORT. The incidence of ORT is significantly higher in Stage 2 than other stages (P

By RETINA - Current Issue, ago

EFFICACY OF COMBINED SYSTEMIC CORTICOSTEROID AND EARLY IMMUNOMODULATORY THERAPY WITHIN THREE MONTHS OF ONSET IN VOGT–KOYANAGI–HARADA DISEASE

imagePurpose:

To evaluate the clinical outcomes of combined systemic corticosteroid and early immunomodulatory therapy (IMT) within 3 months of onset in Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada (VKH) disease compared with conventional therapy.

Methods:

This retrospective observational case series included 73 eyes of 38 patients with VKH, categorized into the conventional (n = 41) and the early IMT (n = 32) groups. Clinical information was gathered from patients’ medical records. Primary outcome measures were visual acuity, subfoveal choroidal thickness, and uveitis outcome including occurrence of sunset glow fundus.

Results:

The logarithm of minimal angle of resolution visual acuity of both groups improved, with statistically significant difference at the last follow-up (P

By Park, Hyo Song; Park, Hyun Young; Lee, Christopher Seungkyu; Lee, Sung Chul; Lee, Ji Hwan, ago