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Since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic on 11th March 2020, changes to social and sanitary practices have included significant issues in access and management of eye care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the fear of loss, coupled with social distancing, lockdown, economic instability, and uncertainty, have led to a significant psychosocial impact that will have to be addressed. In the current COVID-19 pandemic, personal protective equipment such as face masks or face coverings have become a daily necessity. While “mass masking” along with hand hygiene and social distancing became more widespread, new issues began to emerge – particularly in those who wore spectacles as a means of vision correction. As we began to see routine patients again after the first lockdown had been lifted, many patients visited our clinics for refractive surgery consultations with a primary motivating factor of wanting spectacle independence due to the fogging of their spectacles as a result of wearing a mask. In this article, we report on new emerging issues in eye care due to the widespread use of masks and on the new unmet need in the corneal and cataract refractive surgery fields.

Arthur B Cummings, Stephanie Naughton, Ann-Marie Coen, Elizabeth Brennan, Gabrielle E Kelly The Wellington Eye Clinic, Dublin, D18 T8P3, IrelandCorrespondence: Arthur B CummingsThe Wellington Eye Clinic, Beacon Court, Level 2, Ste 36 Beacon Hall, Sandyford, Dublin, D18 T8P3, IrelandTel +353 1 2930470Fax +353 1 293 5978Email abc@wellingtoneyeclinic.comPurpose: To compare the accuracy of pre-operative corneal measurements obtained with four devices, and the refractive outcomes of two optical biometers.Setting: Private practice.Design: Retrospective.Methods: Data taken from biometric measurements on 299 consecutive eyes prior to cataract surgery were retrospectively analyzed using the Argos SS-Optical Biometer and the Lenstar LS900 PCI optical biometer. As part of the standard cataract surgery pre-operative exam, patients also underwent placido disk topography and Scheimpflug tomography. Keratometry, anterior chamber depth, corneal diameter, pupil diameter, central corneal thickness and axial length were all measured. The comparable measurements were compared. Finally, for those eyes where cataract surgery was performed, the post-operative refractive results were compared to the predictive results of the two biometers.Results: The SS-OCT Argos was able to measure all eyes, while five eyes could not be measured with the Lenstar LS900 PCI. Axial length measurements were performed only with the Argos and Lenstar devices. The eyes that could not be measured by the Lenstar LS900 PCI included dense grade IV nuclear sclerosis and large posterior subcapsular cataracts. In the primary endpoints, there was strong correlation between the Argos and the Lenstar devices in eyes with an axial length between 20 and 30 mm.Conclusion: The predictive accuracies of the Argos Optical Biometer and Lenstar LS900 PCI are similar, except in medium and long eyes, in which the predictive accuracy of Argos SS-OCT biometry was higher. The Argos system was found easier to use by technicians when compared to the other biometry devices.Keywords: comparative analysis, OCT, partial coherence interferometry biometers, cataract surgery, refractive outcomes

The most common cause of vision impairment in children is amblyopia. It is defined as impaired visual acuity in one or both eyes that is present with no demonstrable abnormality of the visual pathway and is not immediately resolved by wearing glasses. After the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized COVID-19 as a global pandemic on March 11, 2020, widespread changes and restrictions to social and sanitary practices have presented significant issues in access to eye care during the COVID-19 pandemic. A reduction of more than 80% in pediatric eye care volume up to its total cessation has been observed in different departments. In this scenario, reduced or absent eyesight, due to delay in timely treatment of amblyopic conditions, could create major, long-lasting effects on all aspects of life, including daily personal activities, interacting with the community, school and work opportunities and the ability to access public services. Processes coming out of lockdown should be gradually easing restrictions giving priority to ophthalmology and eye care facilities so that amblyopia does not remain unattended and irreversible as in adults due to lack of timely treatments. If not reversible, this process could lead to a dramatic increase in disability and unsustainable social costs for many governments.

The recent outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been declared a public health emergency worldwide. The scientific community has put in much effort and published studies that described COVID-19’s biology, transmission, clinical diagnosis, candidate therapeutics, and vaccines. However, to date, only a few data are available on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on ophthalmological care in different health care systems, its future consequences in terms of disability, and access to sight-saving cures for many patients. To reduce human-to-human transmission of the virus and also ensure supply of infrastructures, human resources, and disposable medical devices to many regions, it is crucial to assess risks and postpone non-essential outpatient visits and elective surgical procedures, especially in older patients and those with comorbidities. This delay or suspension in essential eye procedures may cause significant and rapid vision impairment to irreversible blindness. Determining the risk-benefit profile of treating these ocular pathologies is a public health issue of supreme priority, even though many patients benefiting from therapeutic treatments are elderly, who are more vulnerable to COVID-19. If not reversible, this process could lead to a dramatic increase in disability and unsustainable social costs for many Governments.

The progressive deterioration of the visual function in patients on waiting lists for cataract surgery has a negative impact on their quality of life, especially in the elderly population. Patient waiting times for cataract surgeries in many healthcare settings have increased recently due to the prolonged stop or slowdown of elective cataract surgery as a result of coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19). The aim of this review is to highlight the impact of such a “de-prioritization” of cataract surgery and to summarize some critical issues and useful hints on how to reorganize cataract pathways, with a special focus on perioperative diagnostic tools during the recovery phase and beyond. The experiences of a group of surgeons originating from nine different countries, named the European COVID-19 Cataract Group (EUROCOVCAT), have been combined with the literature and recommendations from scientific ophthalmic societies and healthcare institutions. Key considerations for elective cataract surgery should include the reduction of the number of unnecessary visits and examinations, adoption of precautionary measures, and implementation of telemedicine instruments. New strategies should be adopted to provide an adequate level of assistance and to guarantee safety conditions. Flexibility will be the watchword and regular updates would be necessary following scientific insights and the development of the pandemic.

Mazen M Sinjab,1,2 Roy S Rubinfeld,3,4 Kirsten Wagner,5,6 Edward C Parsons Jnr,7 Arthur B Cummings,8 Michael W Belin9 1Dr. Mazen Eye Clinic, Medcare Hospitals and Centres, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 2Al Zahra Medical Group, Damascus, Syria; 3Department of Ophthalmology, Georgetown University Medical School/Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC, USA; 4Re:Vision Private Practice, Rockville, MD, USA; 5Department of Ophthalmology, Medstar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC, USA; 6Department of Ophthalmology, Medstar Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC, USA; 7CXL Ophthalmics, Encinitas, CA, USA; 8Wellington Eye Clinic, Dublin, Ireland; 9Department of Ophthalmology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USACorrespondence: Roy S Rubinfeld 3131 Connecticut Ave, NW, #2809, Washington, DC, 20008, USAEmail Doctor@revisedeye.comPurpose: To assess the effectiveness of a novel treatment for patients with advanced corneal ectasia and loss of visual acuity (VA). Conductive keratoplasty (CK) is performed to improve VA followed by epithelium-on (epi-on) corneal crosslinking (CXL) to stabilize the cornea after CK.Methods: Retrospective, exploratory cohort study. Patients with keratoconus or postsurgical ectasia and best spectacle-corrected distance VA (CDVA) ≤ 20/40 were included. Conductive keratoplasty was performed (ViewPoint CK System, Refractec, Inc., Bloomington, MN); followed a day later by epi-on CXL (CXLUSA/CXLO, Bethesda, MD/CXLO Encinitas, CA). Measures included uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA) and CDVA, as well as refractive and tomographic measures and tomographic indices.Results: Data from 50 eyes of 45 patients were analyzed. Mean follow-up was 15.1 ± 12.2 months (range: 2 to 51). Overall, UDVA and CDVA improved postoperatively. Subjective refraction and tomographic metrics did not show consistent changes, but changes in tomographic indices were associated with treatment follow-up time. At the 1-year visit, mean UDVA significantly improved over baseline (P = 0.009) by approximately 3 lines; mean CDVA improved significantly (P = 10− 5) by approximately 2 lines. No eye lost lines of CDVA. Change in the Index of Surface Variance (ISV) was associated with treatment, and the D-Index trended over follow-up time.Conclusion: Conductive keratoplasty with a proprietary epi-on CXL treatment improved vision in patients with advanced ectasia This CK/epi-on CXL treatment offers the possibility of improved VA for patients with compromised vision due to ectasia.Keywords: conductive keratoplasty, CK, corneal crosslinking, crosslinking, keratoconus, ectasia, thermokeratoplasty

Corneal cross-linking (CXL) has been established as a successful treatment tool for the treatment of progressive keratoconus in terms of slowing or halting progressive corneal steepening and thinning and even on some occasions, reversing the steepening. To date the Dresden epithelium-off protocol is regarded as the gold standard and the epithelium-on (epi-on) approaches have met with less success. Both doctors and patients would welcome an epi-on CXL procedure that provided good outcomes as the morbidity with epi-on CXL is so much less and the safety is enhanced. Patient comfort is greater with the epi-on techniques when compared to epi-off. This study looked at 82 eyes that had documented progression of keratoconus and then underwent epi-on CXL using the CXLO system. The results show that corneal steepening can be halted and even reversed over a 2-year follow-up period with no complications noted. Over the 24 months post treatment on average there was a decrease in all keratometry values, BAD and ISV when compared to before treatment with IHD being marginally increased. Further studies over a longer follow-up period are required but recent publications using the same approach are validating the findings seen in this study.

Video abstract Video, Purpose To compare the safety, efficacy, and predictability of laser in situ keratomileusis treatments at 1 year postprocedure using a novel geometric ray tracing algorithm with outcomes of treatments using wavefront-optimized, wavefront-guided, and topography-guided ablation profiles of an excimer laser (WaveLight GmbH, Erlangen, Germany; Alcon Laboratories, Fort Worth, TX, USA). Setting Wellington Eye Clinic, Dublin, Ireland. Design Retrospective comparative case series. Methods Eyes having a preoperative myopic spherical equivalent refractive error >4.00 D and/or astigmatism between 2.00–6.00 D resulting in a spherical equivalent power greater than −4.00 D received laser in situ keratomileusis treatments using a ray tracing algorithm. Refractive outcomes were analyzed postoperatively at 6 and 12 months and were compared to outcomes of wavefront-optimized, wavefront-guided, and topography-guided treatments in eyes with the same pretreatment refractive range. Results Forty-seven eyes of 26 patients were treated using the ray tracing algorithm. At 12 months postprocedure, uncorrected visual acuity was better than the preoperative best-corrected visual acuity in this group. The percentage of eyes achieving an uncorrected visual acuity or best-corrected visual acuity ≥20/20 significantly exceeded the rates achieved in the wavefront-optimized and topography-guided groups. A greater percentage of eyes achieved an uncorrected visual acuity ≥20/20 and ≥20/16 in the wavefront-guided group, but no eyes in the wavefront-guided group had an uncorrected visual acuity ≥20/12.5 in comparison to 9.5% of eyes in the ray tracing group. Conclusion This study provides further evidence of the safety, efficacy, and predictability of laser in situ keratomileusis outcomes using an optical ray tracing algorithm to treat moderate to high myopic astigmatism and shows that good results are sustained through 1 year.