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The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new challenges to the health care community. Many of the super-speciality practices are planning to re-open after the lockdown is lifted. However there is lot of apprehension in everyone's mind about conforming practices that would safeguard the patients, ophthalmologists, healthcare workers as well as taking adequate care of the equipment to minimize the damage. The aim of this article is to develop preferred practice patterns, by developing a consensus amongst the lead experts, that would help the institutes as well as individual vitreo-retina and uveitis experts to restart their practices with confidence. As the situation remains volatile, we would like to mention that these suggestions are evolving and likely to change as our understanding and experience gets better. Further, the suggestions are for routine patients as COVID-19 positive patients may be managed in designated hospitals as per local protocols. Also these suggestions have to be implemented keeping in compliance with local rules and regulations., Competing Interests: None

Competing Interests: None

Purpose: To evaluate the reliability of clinical grading of vitreous haze using a new 9-step ordinal scale versus the existing 6-step ordinal scale., Design: Evaluation of diagnostic test (interobserver agreement study)., Participants: A total of 119 consecutive patients (204 uveitic eyes) presenting for uveitis subspecialty care on the study day at 1 of 3 large uveitis centers., Methods: Five pairs of uveitis specialists clinically graded vitreous haze in the same eyes, one after the other using the same equipment, using the 6- and 9-step scales., Main Outcome Measures: Agreement in vitreous haze grade between each pair of specialists was evaluated by the κ statistic (exact agreement and agreement within 1 or 2 grades)., Results: The scales correlated well (Spearman's ρ = 0.84). Exact agreement was modest using both the 6-step and 9-step scales: average κ = 0.46 (range, 0.28-0.81) and κ = 0.40 (range, 0.15-0.63), respectively. Within 1-grade agreement was slightly more favorable for the scale with fewer steps, but values were excellent for both scales: κ = 0.75 (range, 0.66-0.96) and κ = 0.62 (range, 0.38-0.87), respectively. Within 2-grade agreement for the 9-step scale also was excellent (κ = 0.85; range, 0.79-0.92). Two-fold more cases were potentially clinical trial eligible on the basis of the 9-step than the 6-step scale (P<0.001)., Conclusions: Both scales are sufficiently reproducible using clinical grading for clinical and research use with the appropriate threshold (≥ 2- and ≥ 3-step differences for the 6- and 9-step scales, respectively). The results suggest that more eyes are likely to meet eligibility criteria for trials using the 9-step scale. The 9-step scale appears to have higher reproducibility with Reading Center grading than clinical grading, suggesting that Reading Center grading may be preferable for clinical trials., (Copyright © 2014 American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Intraocular inflammations are still a diagnostic challenge for ophthalmologists. It is often difficult to make a precise etiological diagnosis in certain situations. Recently, there have been several advances in the investigations of uveitis, which has helped the ophthalmologists a lot in the management of such clinical conditions. A tailored approach to laboratory diagnosis of uveitic cases should be directed by the history, patient's symptoms and signs, and clinical examination. This review summarizes various modalities of laboratory investigations and their role in the diagnosis of uveitis.

Eye diseases in childhood are important causes of medical consultation and it affects learning ability, adjustment in school and personality. To determine the pattern of ocular morbidity a cross-sectional observational study was conducted among 714 children, attending Ophthalmology department at a tertiary eye care center in Kolkata, West Bengal. All the children less than 15 years of age, attending in Unit II outpatient department were selected by complete enumeration method for duration of one year (January-December 2010). Distribution of association was analyzed by Chi-square test and difference between two proportions was calculated by z test for proportions. The common ocular morbidity were refractive errors (23.67%) followed by allergic conjunctivitis (17.23%), infection of the eye and adnexa (15.13%), ocular trauma (12.74%), and congenital eye diseases (13.59%). Majority of ocular morbidity is treatable and need early attention through eye screening cum intervention program beginning right from the childhood.

Aim: To analyze the trends in clinicopathologic indications for enucleations over a 15-year period., Materials and Methods: Clinicopathologic details of all eyes that underwent enucleation from January 1996 to December 2010 were drawn up from a computerized database. The study was divided into three periods of 5 years each and comparison tables for each cause of enucleation during these periods were generated. Chi-square test was used to compare proportions., Results: Out of a total 1467 enucleations performed during the study period, 693 (46%) were attributable to retinoblastoma, 189 (12.5%) to uveal melanoma, 228 (15%) to trauma, and 149 (10%) to phthisis bulbi. Intraocular tumors accounted for more than 63% of all enucleations performed. Over the three time periods, proportion of enucleations secondary to retinoblastoma increased from 38% in the 1 st period to 58% in the 3 rd period (P < 0.001). Enucleations for trauma showed statistically significant reduction in trends over the three periods (24% in the 1 st period vs. 4.4% in the 3 rd period, P < 0.001). Similar trends were also seen in the proportion of enucleations due to intractable glaucoma and chronic uveitis. The absolute number of enucleations secondary to retinoblastoma out of the total cases seen during the study period did not change over the three periods (range 51-60%)., Conclusion: Intraocular tumors were the commonest indications for enucleation in our patient population despite the availability of globe-conserving treatments such as chemotherapy and radioactive plaques. We observed increasing trends in the proportion of enucleations due to retinoblastoma and reduction of enucleations secondary to trauma, chronic uveitis, and glaucoma.

Aims: To provide a fact file on the etiology, clinical presentations and management of retinal vasculitis in Eastern India., Materials and Methods: Retrospective, record based analysis of retinal vasculitis cases in a tertiary care center in Eastern India from January 2007 to December 2009 ., Results: One hundred and thirteen eyes of 70 patients of retinal vasculitis were included in this study. Sixty (85.7%) patients were male (mean age 33± 11.1 years) and 10 (14.3%) were female (mean age 32.4 ± 13.6 years). Vasculitis was bilateral in 43 (61.4%) and unilateral in 27 (38.6%) patients. Commonest symptoms were dimness of vision (73; 64.6%) and floaters (36; 31.9%). Vascular sheathing (82; 72.6%) and vitritis (51; 45.1%) were commonest signs. Mantoux test was positive in 21 (30%) patients but tuberculosis was confirmed in only four (5.71%) patients. Raised serum angiotensin-converting enzyme level and positive antinuclear antibody level were reported in four (5.71%) patients each. Human leukocyte antigen B5 (HLA B5) marker was present in one (1.4%) patient. However, none of the total 70 patients were found to have a conclusively proven systemic disease attributable as the cause of retinal vasculitis. Oral corticosteroid (60; 85.7%) was the mainstay of treatment. Forty-eight (42.5%) eyes maintained their initial visual acuity and 43 (38%) gained one or more line at mean follow-up of 16.6± 6.3 months., Conclusion: Retinal vasculitis cases had similar clinical presentations and common treatment plan. There was no systemic disease association with vasculitis warranting a careful approach in prescribing investigations.

Purpose of Review: This is an attempt to provide a brief overview of ocular manifestation of storage diseases (lysosomal storage diseases)., Recent Findings: Lysosomal storage disorder is a heterogeneous group of rare disorders characterized by abnormal accumulation of incompletely degraded substances in various tissues and organs. Patients with these kinds of inherited disorder often present with ocular manifestation along with various systemic features. Systemic manifestations including neurological impairment, skeletal deformities, intellectual and cardiac abnormalities, and gastrointestinal problems are quite common. Ocular complication may cause severe reduction in vision and can affect any part of the eye. Corneal opacification of varying severity is frequently seen. Patients can also present with cataract, vitreous degeneration, retinopathy, optic nerve swelling and atrophy, ocular hypertension, and glaucoma., Summary: The majority of these patients have poor vision due to various ocular complications that are often very difficult to monitor and treat.

Purpose: To study the clinical spectrum and treatment outcome of retinoblastoma in Indian children., Patients and Methods: This retrospective study analyzed 488 eyes of 355 retinoblastoma patients treated at a tertiary care ophthalmic hospital in southern India during a 14-year period., Results: Retinoblastoma involved one eye in 177 (50%) and both eyes in 178 (50%) patients. Mean age at presentation was 23.98 +/- 23.37.

Purpose: To report a series of nine patients of Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) with diverse ocular and systemic manifestations., Methods: Retrospective analysis of nine consecutive patients seen between 1987 and 2002., Results: The mean age at the time of diagnosis was 43.89 years (range: 33-56 years). Redness, pain and photophobia (8 patients) were the common presenting complaints. Sinusitis (6 patients) and arthralgia (6 patients) were the commonly associated systemic complaints. Necrotising scleritis with peripheral keratopathy (6 patients) was the most common ocular sign. Serum antibodies against the cytoplasmic component of neutrophils and monocytes (cANCA) were positive in 7 of 8 patients. Biopsy diagnosis was done in one patient for whom cANCA was not done. Cyclophosphamide and corticosteroids alleviated the symptoms in 6 patients. Ocular and systemic condition remained stable in 7 patients. One patient expired due to the severity of the disease and another patient was lost to follow-up., Conclusions: Scleritis with peripheral corneal involvement was the most commonly observed ocular manifestation of WG in our series. cANCA was a useful adjunct in the diagnosis of WG. When clinical and serologic findings were inconclusive, biopsy remained indispensable. A combination of cyclophosphamide and corticosteroids is essential and critical not only for the ocular condition but also for the survival of the patient.

This incidence of AIDS is rapidly increasing in the whole world. India is emerging as the country with largest number of AIDS patients. The life time cumulative risk of at least one abnormal ocular lesion developing in an HIV positive ranges from 52% to 100% in various studies. The role of ophthalmologist in the management of an HIV infected patient is becoming increasingly important. This review article describes the common ocular lesions in AIDS patients, particularly seen in Indian patients and available treatment modalities.

The spectrum of ocular lesions in children with HIV infection is different from that seen in adults. Ocular lesions in pediatric AIDS patients have not been studied in India. We analyzed the clinical profile, demographic characteristics, ocular and systemic lesions in children with AIDS seen in a referral eye institute in India. The clinical profile and demographic features were studied and complete ocular examination was done. Systemic findings were evaluated at an AIDS care center and recorded in a precoded proforma. Out of the 218 cases of HIV infection seen at our hospital between December 1993 and October 1999, 12 (5.50%) were below 15 years of age. Seven (58.33%) were males and 5 (41.66%) were females with the mean age of 6.5 years and median age of 6.2 years. Vertical transmission was the most common mode of infection (58.33%). Seven (58.33%) of these patients had systemic infection, the most common being pulmonary tuberculosis (42.85%). Ocular lesions were found in 6 (50%) patients. The most common ocular lesions were anterior uveitis and cytomegalovirus retinitis (CMV) (33%) followed by retinal detachment (16.66%) and vitreous hemorrhage (16.66%). High prevalence of ocular lesions in pediatric AIDS patients in India in a referral eye centre was observed. The most common lesions were anterior uveitis followed by CMV retinitis. The management in such cases was often challenging in a developing country like India.

Purpose: To report the use of ultrasound biomicroscopy in the detection of caterpillar hairs in the pars plana in a patient with unilateral pars planitis., Method: Ultrasound biomicroscopic imaging of the anterior segment of the eye., Results: Ultrasound biomicroscopy located a hair in the posterior chamber at the first visit and five more in the pars plana 1 month later. This finding was confirmed intraoperatively., Conclusion: Ultrasound biomicroscopy is useful in the diagnosis and management of unilateral pars planitis of uncertain cause.

Purpose: To report the surgical anatomy of vitreoretinal adhesions as observed intraoperatively in patients undergoing vitreous surgery for complications of Eales' disease., Methods: Eighteen consecutive male patients (18 eyes) undergoing vitrectomy for Eales' disease were studied prospectively. Intraoperative diagnosis was vitreous hemorrhage (VH) in nine cases, traction retinal detachment (TRD) in four, VH and TRD in three, and combined traction-rhegmatogenous retinal detachment in two. Epiretinal membranes (ERMs) obtained during surgery were studied using light microscopy and immunohistochemistry., Results: An incomplete posterior vitreous detachment was observed in all eyes. Multifocal vitreoretinal adhesions were evident in 83.3% of eyes. The proliferation was fibrovascular in 10 eyes and fibrous in eight. A radial traction fold extending from optic disk to periphery was observed in three eyes. A double-layered membrane, probably the result of vitreoschisis, caused tangential traction. ERMs consisted principally of type II collagen and the cellular element was predominantly composed of lymphocytes, glial cells, and macrophage-like cells (probably hyalocytes)., Conclusions: Fibrous and fibrovascular proliferations have multiple areas of adhesions to the posterior vitreous cortex. The presence of type II collagen in the ERM indicates a possible vitreous collagen component to the double-layered membranes (vitreoschisis). Recognition of the double-layered membranes aids in relief of traction during surgery by delamination.

The ocular morbidity pattern in 2010 eyes of 1005 patients with active pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis was studied prospectively. A complete clinical (ocular and systemic) examination, radiologic evaluation, Mantoux test and sputum analysis for acid-fast bacilli were carried out in all patients. The ocular morbidity in patients in this study with active tuberculosis was 1.39%. The most common ocular finding was bilateral healed focal choroiditis (50%). No case of Eales' disease was found in this series. There was no statistically significant correlation between the ocular lesions and Mantoux positivity.

Frozen section diagnosis is extensively used in various branches of pathology, but its application in ophthalmic pathology was recognised only in the 1970s. We studied 10 sections of ocular and adenexal lesions by frozen section diagnosis, which included orbital lesions (4 cases), lid lesions (3 cases), and intraocular tissue (1 case). The time taken for processing ranged between 10 to 15 minutes. Diagnoses based on frozen section evaluation included lymphoma, mesenchymal chondrosarcoma, solar keratosis, compound naevus, silicone oil globules in cataractous lens, neurofibromatosis, pseudotumour, retinoblastoma, and chronic blepharitis. Although further histopathologic examination correlated well with the frozen section (100%) observations, the diagnosis was deferred in the case of naevus and reactive lymphoid hyperplasia. Our study shows that frozen section diagnosis in ophthalmic surgery is quite reliable and is particularly useful in ocular adenexal lesions.

The article presents a case study of a 14-year-old girl in Kerala, India suffering from redness in the right eye. The patient underwent visual acuity test on Snellen's chart and was presented of having a live Brugia malayi in the anterior chamber. Furthermore, topical anesthesia was made to remove the worm.