OCULAR CHANGES IN PATIENTS ON LONG TREATMENT WITH HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE

Introduction: To study the ocular changes in patients on long term treatment with Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ); and detect means for early detection of toxicity.Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional observational study at a tertiary care hospital, in which 100 patients, male and female, aged 35 years or more, taking HCQ for 5 years or more were included. Patients with any known ocular or systemic diseases were not included. Indication, dosage, duration and cumulative dose of HCQ intake were recorded. History of ocular symptoms, visual acuity, colour vision, complete ophthalmic examination, visual field using Amsler grid and 10-2 Humphrey’s automated fields (HVF), Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT), colour fundus photography, fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) and fundus autofluorescence (FAF) were recorded. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential analysis.Result: 15% of the study population showed signs of HCQ related ocular toxicity. 17%, 21% and 10% patients had abnormal SD-OCT, HVF and FAF findings respectively.Conclusion: HCQ related ocular toxicity has been found in patients in the absence of symptoms. Objective tests like HVF, SD- OCT and FAF were more useful in early detection of toxicity than subjective tests such as Amsler grid, colour vision and FFA.

Early detection of neovascular age-related macular degeneration: an economic evaluation based on data from the EDNA study

Background/aimsTo evaluate the cost-effectiveness of non-invasive monitoring tests to detect the onset of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) in the unaffected second eye of patients receiving treatment for unilateral nAMD in a UK National Health Service (NHS) hospital outpatient setting.MethodsA patient-level state transition model was constructed to simulate the onset, detection, and treatment of nAMD in the second eye. Five index tests were compared: self-reported change in visual function, Amsler test, clinic measured change in visual acuity from baseline, fundus assessment by clinical examination or colour photography, and spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Diagnosis of nAMD was confirmed by fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) before prompt initiation of antivascular endothelial growth factor treatment. Quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and costs of health and social care were modelled over a 25-year time horizon.ResultsSD-OCT generated more QALYs (SD-OCT, 5.830; fundus assessment, 5.787; Amsler grid, 5.736, patient’s subjective assessment, 5.630; and visual acuity, 5.600) and lower health and social care costs (SD-OCT, £19 406; fundus assessment, £19 649; Amsler grid, £19 751; patient’s subjective assessment, £20 198 and visual acuity, £20 444) per patient compared with other individual monitoring tests. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis indicated a high probability (97%–99%) of SD-OCT being the preferred test across a range of cost-effectiveness thresholds (£13 000–£30 000) applied in the UK NHS.ConclusionsEarly treatment of the second eye following FFA confirmation of SD-OCT positive findings is expected to maintain better visual acuity and health-related quality of life and may reduce costs of health and social care over the lifetime of patients.

Evaluation of Macular Function Tests with Diabetic Retinopathy

BACKGROUND Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is reported to be the leading cause of vision loss in adults aged between 20–74 years. Early detection and prompt evaluation is essential to prevent the blindness related to diabetes. Simple and quick out-patient department (OPD) tests are essential for early detection of maculopathy in diabetes, which will enhance the treatment and rehabilitation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation of photo stress test and Amsler’s grid test with diabetic retinopathy and maculopathy. We also wanted to study the variation in photo stress test and the patterns of visual disturbances using Amsler grid in different stages of diabetic retinopathy. METHODS All patients with type 2 diabetes were included for a study duration of one year. A cross sectional study design was planned. Anterior and posterior segment evaluation was done. Photo stress test was performed with a torch light and the recovery time was recorded. Amsler grid was performed on each patient at 33 cm distance. The results were recorded in terms of micropsia, macropsia, metamorphopsia, and any other ill-defined scotomas. The posterior segment, in terms of vitreous and retina was evaluated with 20 D lens on an indirect ophthalmoscopy and the macular details were evaluated on a 90 D lens with slit lamp biomicroscopy. Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy (ETDR) classification was used for classifying the retinopathy and the maculopathy stage in patients. RESULTS There was a correlation between paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PST) and the stage of diabetic retinopathy; between PST and diabetic maculopathy; with increasing severity of diabetic retinopathy and maculopathy associated with higher or prolonged PST values. No correlation was found between Amsler’s grid and DR staging. CONCLUSIONS PST can be used to assess severity of diabetic retinopathy in a pre-clinical and early clinical stage in places where access to the equipment for posterior segment evaluation is unavailable. Amsler’s grid evaluation did not have a role in evaluation of macula in cases of diabetic retinopathy. KEY WORDS Macula, Amsler, Photostress Test, Metamorphopsia

Acute Macular Neuro-retinopathy: a Rare Retinal Disorder, Presenting as Paracentral Scotoma

Acute Macular Neuro-retinopathy (AMN) is a rare clinical entity. We present a case of 26 years old male who presented with one-week old history of sudden onset of decrease vision in left eye associated with paracentral scotomas. Dilated fundus examination of the left eye showed multiple reddish brownish petalloid para-foveal lesions with apex pointing toward the fovea. OCT showed hyper-reflective bands in the Outer Nuclear Layer and Outer Plexiform Layer along with disruption of ellipsoid zones. Amsler grid drawn by the patient and the visual field showed scotoma corresponding to the macular lesion. The cause turned out to be undiagnosed essential hypertension. Purpose of presenting this case is that High Definition Optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) makes diagnosis of some rare conditions easy and fast for an ophthalmologist, that might be misdiagnosed or missed with conventional OCT and FFA imaging test. Key Words: Acute Macular Neuro-retinopathy, Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography, Paracentral Scotoma.

Hydroxychloroquine and SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19): An Old Problem and New Considerations in Ophthalmology

The antimalarial hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has been suggested as a potential drug for treatment and prevention against severe acute respiratory syndrome–coronavirus 2 (SARS–CoV-2). Currently, there is insufficient scientific evidence available on HCQ retinal toxicity associated with the current treatment regimen and dosing for COVID-19 patients. In the sight of the current public health crisis, our recommendations aim to reduce the probability of unfavorable HCQ treatment outcomes and emphasize the importance of monitoring and early detection for HCQ retinopathy by simple means and the need for correlating clinical observations with multimodal imaging. We, therefore, recommend the use of Threshold Amsler grid (TAG) as a screening tool for high risk COVID-19 patients as well as treated patients with visual symptoms. Clinical decisions should be made on an individual basis, taking into consideration any pre-existing liver and kidney disease as well as macular pathology.

Usage of Digital D Chart Test as a Modification of Amsler Grid in Ophthalmology and Optometry

Aims: Metamorphopsia is important symptom of macular disease. The most common simple detection method of metamorphopsia is Amsler grid. Usually it is used monocularly with best correction for near. Patient should evaluate grid deformation and describe position of the deformity. This method is based on qualitative principle. For quantitative evaluation we can use Software D Chart (Thomson Software Solution). This instrument enables evaluate degree and position of the metamorphopsia in central visual field. Our goal was to establish M-score values in group of young healthy subjects without correction (M-score natural), with cylindrical spectacle lens (M-score SL) and in group of patients with age related degeneration (M-score ARMD). Objects and Methods: We had 33 probands divided into 2 samples. The first sample contains 15 young probands with average age 23 years without any eye pathology. The second sample contains 18 patients with ARMD (7 with dry form and 11 with wet form). In our study we used software D Chart (Thomson Software Solution). This software was use in Acer PC with touchable screen. We note total M-score in right eye of all probands. Level for statistic evaluation was set on p = 0.05. Results: Natural M-score values for young probands was: median 0, minimum 0, maximum 2.3. With cylindrical lens we got these values: median 25.2, minimum 3.6, maximum 41.6. In second sample with probands suffer from ARMD we got these values: median 0.8, minimum 0, maximum 29.4. Wilcoxon non-parametric test was used for statistical evaluation. We proved statistically significant difference between all variables. M-score natural vs. M-score SL showed p < 0.001, M-score natural vs. M-score ARMD showed p = 0.04 and M-score SL vs. M-score ARMD showed p < 0.001. Conclusion: Our study showed statistically significant differences between variable M-score natural, M-score SL and M-score ARMD. We found that printed Amsler grid as well as its digital modification D Chart are suitable for determining metamorphopsia in central visual field. The main advantage of D Chart is quantitative evaluation of the test with M-score and digital registration of retinal changes during patient´s follow up.

Validation of a novel functional test for assessing metamorphopsia using epiretinal membranes as a model

Current tests for assessing metamorphopsia do not account for confounders such as perceptual filling-in and spatial redundancy, which affect its sensitivity and repeatability. This proof-of-concept study aimed to assess the performance of a novel laboratory-based psychophysical test (Line Sag Test, LST) which addresses these issues for quantification of metamorphopsia in idiopathic epiretinal membranes. The LST quantifies perpendicular metamorphopsia at three eccentricities (3°, 6°, and 9°) along eight meridians (45° steps). Metamorphopsia was assessed using the LST and Amsler grid and the hit rates of both tests for detecting metamorphopsia were compared. Normal metamorphopsia scores using the LST did not differ significantly from 0 and fell within one step-size (p = 0.500). The LST detected significantly more cases of metamorphopsia than the Amsler grid (14/21 versus 3/21) (p = 0.003). Similarly, significantly more cases of visual distortions in asymptomatic iERMs were detected using the LST than the Amsler grid (11/18 versus 0/18) (p = 0.008). The LST has a higher hit rate compared to the Amsler grid (67% versus 14%). This work demonstrates a psychophysically-robust functional test addressing perceptual confounders is more sensitive for quantifying and localising metamorphopsia in macular disease, particularly in asymptomatic disease.