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Intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB), often injected during cataract surgery, is currently the main treatment for diabetic macular edema. This retrospective study aimed to compare the effectiveness of IVB injections alone and during cataract surgery in patients with diabetic macular edema. We examined 43 eyes in 40 patients who underwent cataract surgery with simultaneous IVB injections 3–12 months after IVB injections alone. Best-corrected visual acuity and central subfield macular thickness (CMT) were measured 1-month post-injection. The CMTs of the same eyes with IVB-only first and combined-treatment procedures later were 384 ± 149 vs. 315 ± 109 μm pretreatment (p = 0.0002), and after 1 month, they were 319 ± 102 vs. 419 ± 183 μm (p < 0.0001). In the IVB-only procedure, 56.1% of eyes had CMT < 300 μm 1 month after the injection compared to 32.5% after the combined treatment. Therefore, on average, when IVB was administered during cataract surgery, CMT increased, whereas after IVB injection alone, it effectively decreased. More prospective trials with large sample sizes are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of IVB injection performed simultaneously with cataract surgery.

Pregnancy-related ocular diseases develop mostly in the third trimester of pregnancy. Here, we describe a case of a pregnant woman with a choroidal mass that caused a serous retinal detachment during the first trimester of pregnancy. The patient's condition resolved spontaneously after an abortion.

This retrospective study aimed to evaluate prognostic factors associated with the success of fluid-gas exchange in patients with failed primary idiopathic macular hole (IMH) surgery. Outcomes of the fluid-gas exchange were categorised as unclosed, or U-type, V-type, or W-type closure. Patients were divided into the successful and unsuccessful groups according to the absence or presence of bare retinal pigment epithelium, respectively, following fluid-gas exchange. Demographics, baseline characteristics, and pre-procedure characteristics were assessed. A total of 19 eyes in 19 patients that had failed IMH surgery and then underwent fluid-gas exchange were included. Of those, 18 eyes had MH closure (successful, 15 eyes; unsuccessful, three eyes). One eye was unclosed after fluid-gas exchange; therefore, the patient underwent additional vitrectomy for MH closure (unsuccessful). The successful group showed significantly lower pre-procedure base diameters; higher baseline and pre-procedure macular hole index, hole form factor, and tractional hole index values; and lower baseline and pre-procedure minimum diameter and diameter hole index values. Moreover, a better visual prognosis was observed in the successful group. These results suggest that indices predicting favourable results of primary surgery for IMH are useful to predict the success of fluid-gas exchange in patients with failed primary MH surgery.

This study was performed to evaluate clinical characteristics of branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) patients with increased retinal haemorrhage during macular oedema (MO) treatment. Patients were divided into increased and non-increased retinal haemorrhage groups. The former group was sub-divided based on the degree of increase

Fabry disease (FD) is an X-linked, recessively inherited, rare, progressive, disorder of glycosphingolipid metabolism affecting multiple organs resulting in organ dysfunction. It is rare to find only one FD affected subject with a de novo mutation. Here we report a case of a 41-year-old Asian male diagnosed with de novo FD. Comprehensive ophthalmological evaluation was performed using slit lamp, color fundus photography, optical coherence tomography, fluorescein angiography, and indocyanine green angiography. On slit lamp examination, cornea verticillata and slightly tortuous, and aneurysmal dilatation of inferior bulbar conjunctival vessels were observed. Other imaging modalities showed unremarkable findings. Cornea verticillata and inferior bulbar conjunctival vascular abnormalities may be detected earlier than other ocular abnormalities in de novo FDs like hereditary FDs.

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has reportedly affected almost 23 million people, with more than 800 thousand deaths globally. There have been a few reports on the ocular manifestations of COVID-19 patients in China but no reports in Korea. The present study aimed to examine ocular manifestations of COVID-19 patients in Korea. Methods COVID-19 patients admitted from March 2020 to April 2020 at Keimyung University Dongsan Hospital and Keimyung University Daegu Dongsan Hospital were reviewed retrospectively for ocular manifestations. During the period of hospitalization, ocular symptoms as well as blood test results were noted and analyzed. Patients were then divided into the first-episode and relapsed group and ocular symptoms were analyzed in the groups. Results A total of 103 patients were included in this study. Among them, 71patients were in the first-episode group and 32 patients in the relapsed group. No significant differences were determined in terms of positivity of ocular symptoms between the first-episode group (12 patients, 16.9%) and the relapsed group (10 patients, 31.3%, P > 0.05). Symptoms of positive upper respiratory infection and lower creatine phosphokinase were determined to be related to positive ocular symptoms. Conjunctival congestion was noted in seven patients. In the subgroup analysis, the conjunctival congestion-positive patients exhibited higher positivity of upper respiratory infection symptoms (100%) as compared with those in the negative group (40%, P = 0.017). Conclusion Positive upper respiratory infection symptoms and lower creatine phosphokinase were determined to be related to ocular symptoms in COVID-19 patients. Among these patients, positive upper respiratory infection symptoms were associated with conjunctival congestion., Graphical Abstract

The tear matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) immunoassay (Inflammadry) exhibits variable results in dry eye (DE) patients. We investigated if the tear volume in DE patients affects the results of MMP-9 immunoassay in clinical and in vitro settings. This cross-sectional study enrolled 188 eyes of 188 DE patients. The clinical symptoms and signs of DE were assessed using the Ocular Surface Disease Index and visual analog scale, strip meniscometry, tear break-up time, and tear meniscus height (TMH), area (TMA), and depth (TMD) using swept-source optical coherence tomography and corneal and conjunctival staining scores. For quantitative evaluation, the bands produced by the InflammaDry test were analyzed with ImageJ. DE subjects were grouped according to MMP-9 positivity and TMH. The InflammaDry-positive group showed greater TMH, TMA, and TMD than the MMP-9-negative group (p < 0.05). InflammaDry test band density in the high TMH group was significantly greater than that in the low and normal TMH groups (p < 0.05). InflammaDry test band density correlated positively with TMH, TMA, and TMD (all p < 0.05). InflammaDry test results were influenced by tear volume. Low tear volume in aqueous tear-deficient DE may induce false-negative results, and reflex tearing during the test may induce false-positive results.

We aimed to validate a tear MMP-9 in-situ immunoassay (InflammaDry) and to identify factors that could affect results or interpretation. Three factors were examined: sample concentration, volume, and time. Recombinant human (rh) MMP-9 (10 or 20 μl; 0, 12.5, 25, 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1,000 ng/ml) was applied to the kit and the detection limit and assay reproducibility were examined. At a rhMMP-9 volume of 10 μl (≥ 50 ng/ml), all positive results were identified by densitometry at 10 and 20 min; however, after 20 min, more than half of the nine ophthalmologists interpreted a positive result. At a rhMMP-9 volume of 20 μl (≥ 25 ng/ml), ophthalmologists and densitometry identified almost all test lines at 10 and 20 min. At 10 μl, densitometry showed a linear dose–response pattern. At 20 μl, densitometry showed a linear dose–response pattern at concentrations up to 500 ng/ml; however, full saturation was achieved at concentrations ≥ 500 ng/ml. When the same amount of rhMMP-9 was applied, the density result increased significantly upon doubling of the solvent volume (i.e., by adding the same volume of PBS to a sample). InflammaDry showed a high inter- and intra-assay coefficient of variation at 10 min (28.4% and 24.7%, respectively). The results of the MMP-9 in-situ immunoassay varied significantly depending on sample volume. Therefore, when interpreting the results, careful attention must be paid to tear volume.

Rationale Most laser-induced retinal injuries are caused by accidental laser discharge during the preparation of laser devices without protective goggles, laser injury during the cosmetic procedure in a dermatologist, is very rare, with no prior case reports. Patient concerns A 55-year-old Asian male dermatologist visited our hospital with a 2-week history of visual disturbance in his right eye. He had experienced sudden central scotoma in the right eye while using a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm, 2 J/cm, 6-mm spot size, 750 ps) 2 to 3 cm from the target without proper eye protection. He had applied a glass slide firmly onto the treatment area prior to commencing the procedure. The choroidal neovascularization (CNV) was detected via optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) 2 weeks after the laser injury. Diagnosis Foveal CNV secondary to laser energy reflected from the glass slide. Intervention Intravitreal bevacizumab (1.25 mg/0.05 mL) injection was performed. Outcomes Regression of CNV was observed. Lessons Retinal injury can occur not only by direct laser beam exposure but also by way of a beam reflected from a glass slide. Operators should always use laser safety eyewear during cosmetic procedures involving laser devices, so as to prevent the occurrence of ocular complications. Thorough short-term follow-up with OCTA is recommended for the prompt detection of CNV in cases of retinal laser injury.

The objective of this study is to investigate the value of multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) in the assessment of sacroiliitis in patients with established ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Paired plain radiographs and MDCT images of the 330 sacroiliac (SI) joints in 165 patients with definite or probable ankylosing spondylitis were analyzed for sacroiliitis. Sacroiliitis on plain radiographs were graded on a scale of 0-4 according to the modified New York (NY) criteria. For grading of sacroiliitis by MDCT, modified NY criteria were revised for MDCT application introducing the concept of quantification. The relationship between sacroiliitis grades by plain radiography and MDCT was analyzed by two radiologists, blinded for all clinical data. Of the 330 SI joints assessed, there was agreement between the sacroiliitis grading by plain radiography and MDCT in 73 (22.1 %) SI joints. Sacroiliitis grade by MDCT was higher in 250 (75.8 %) SI joints and lower in 7 (2.1 %) SI joints than that by plain radiography. Using the MDCT, 83.6 % of patients met the modified NY radiologic criteria for the classification of AS, compared with 58.2 % of the patients by plain radiography. Twenty-six percent of the patients, who did not meet the modified NY criteria for the classification of AS by plain radiography, met the criteria by MDCT. Disease durations in patients with grade 2 and grade 3 sacroiliitis were significantly shorter in patients evaluated by MDCT compared with plain radiography. MDCT is a useful imaging method that can be applied to the initial diagnosis of the AS, and by better visualization of SI joint changes, it can be used to predict the progress of the disease.

Background: Recent recommendations have established clinical remission ideally or low disease activity (LDA) as therapeutic targets in all patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Controlled studies of biologic agents have primarily assessed treatment effects in patients with severe RA; patients with moderate disease activity, whoconstitute a larger group, have received far less attention. In Period 1 of the PRESERVE trial, the proportion of subjects with moderately active RA achieving LDA or remission were evaluated after treatment with etanercept 50mg once weekly (QW) plus methotrexate for 36 weeks.Methods: Subjects with DAS28 >3.2 and ≤5.1 despite stable doses of oral methotrexate received open-label etanercept 50mg QW plus methotrexate (screening dose permitted to be titrated up to 25 mg/wk through week 28) for 36 weeks.Results: 834 subjects received treatment and were analyzed. Subjects were mostly female (83%), Caucasian (74%), RFþ (73%), and aCCPþ (78%), with a mean age of 48 years and disease duration of 7 years. Mean baseline DAS28 was 4.4; SDAI, 19.1; ESR, 22.2 mm/hr; and CRP, 12.3 mg/L. Efficacy results from Period 1 are shown in the table. The most commonly reported adverse events (AEs) were headache (6.1%), nasopharyngitis (5.4%), and upper respiratory tract infection (4.4%). Twenty-two subjects (2.6%) discontinued due to AEs.Conclusions: Substantial proportions of subjects with moderately active RA who received etanercept 50mg QW plus methotrexate for 36 weeks achieved LDA (85%-86%), DAS28 remission (67%), or SDAI remission (25%). Therefore, these ambitious goals can be achieved realistically in a high percentage of patients with moderate disease activity.

We performed a multicenter cross-sectional study of 134 sexually active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients to investigate the prevalence of and risk factors for high risk human papilloma virus (HPV) infection and cervical cytological abnormalities among Korean women with SLE. In this multicenter cross-sectional study, HPV testing and routine cervical cytologic examination was performed. HPV was typed using a hybrid method or the polymerase chain reaction. Data on 4,595 healthy women were used for comparison. SLE patients had greater prevalence of high-risk HPV infection (24.6% vs. 7.9%, P

Arterial and cardiac involvement of Behcet's disease is a rare but life threatening complication. The rupture of an arterial aneurysm might result in sudden death. We report a 54-year-old man with an established diagnosis of Behcet's disease who presented with multiple cardiovascular complications that eventually lead to his death. He presented with extensive venous occlusions, and sequentially developed right ventricular thrombosis with multiple pulmonary thromboembolisms, and a pulmonary artery aneurysm. We report this unusual sequence of cardiovascular complications in a patient with Behcet's disease.

Three dimensional (3-D) ultrasonography is definitely more accurate than conventional 2-D ultrasonography in volume measurement of intra-abdominal organs. However, its application in measuring gastric emptying time has been limited. Thus, we tried to measure gastric antral emptying time by using 3-D ultrasonography and compare with that by radio-scintigraphy.We performed both 3-D ultrasonography and radio-scintigraphy on the same day in 23 healthy subjects. After overnight fast, the subjects ingested 500 mL of soup meal (84 Kcal) that had been pre-mixed with 1 mCi of technetium(99m). The half emptying time (T(1/2)) measured by 3-D ultrasonography was defined by the time when the gastric antral volume decreased to half.The mean T(1/2) of 23 healthy subjects measured by 3-D ultrasonography was 23.4 +/- 10.5 min, while that measured by scintigraphy was 28.4 +/- 14.4 min. The difference (p=0.11 by paired t-test) between the two methods was not significant. Moreover, no significant correlation of T1/2 between the two methods (r=0.361, p=0.09) was observed.Measuring gastric antral emptying time with 3-D ultrasonography may be useful but require further validation studies and advance in technology.

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical course and prognostic factors of visual acuity in post-vitrectomy endophthalmitis. Methods: A total of 9 patients diagnosed with post-vitrectomy endophthalmitis between 2004 and 2013 were enrolled in this retrospective study. To evaluate factors affecting final visual acuity, the following was investigated: best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) before first vitrectomy, BCVA at presentation, presence of diabetes mellitus, type of port used on first pars plana vitrectomy, whether cataract operation was performed simultaneously, whether removal of internal limiting membrane was performed at first pars plana vitrectomy, interval period from initial vitrectomy to treatment of endophthalmitis, presence of hypopyon, whether culture was proven, and type of organism isolated. Results: All 9 eyes received intravitreal antibiotic injections and additional pars plana vitrectomy was performed in 7 eyes. Six eyes were culture-proven. Staphylococcus epidermidis was cultured from 5 eyes and Escherichia coli was cultured from 1 eye. BCVA before first vitrectomy, presence of diabetes mellitus, type of port used on first pars plana vitrectomy, whether cataract operation was performed simultaneously, interval from initial vitrectomy to treatment of endophthalmitis, whether culture proven, and type of organism isolated did not affect final visual acuity. BCVA at presentation was an important factor for final visual acuity. Removal of internal limiting membrane at initial vitrectomy was a poor prognostic factor in final visual acuity (p = 0.02). Conclusions: Endophthalmitis after pars plana vitrectomy showed very poor final visual acuity and better BCVA at presentation resulted in better final visual acuity. Poor visual acuity was observed in patients who had the internal limiting membrane removed at first vitrectomy. J Korean Ophthalmol Soc 2015;56(2):213-218

The objective of this study was to investigate clinical and radiographic features and gender differences in Korean patients with adult-onset ankylosing spondylitis. Multicenter cross-sectional studies were conducted in the rheumatology clinics of 13 Korean tertiary referral hospitals. All patients had a confirmed diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis according to the modified New York criteria. Clinical, laboratory, and radiographic features were evaluated and disease activities were assessed using the Bath ankylosing spondylitis disease activity index. Five hundred and five patients were recruited. The male to female ratio was 6.1:1. Average age at symptom onset was 25.4+/-8.9 yr and average disease duration was 9.6+/-6.8 yr. Males manifested symptoms at a significantly earlier age. HLA-B27 was more frequently positive in males. Hips were more commonly affected in males, and knees in females. When spinal mobility was measured using tragus-to-wall distance and the modified Schober's test, females had significantly better results. Radiographic spinal changes, including bamboo spine and syndesmophytes, were more common in males after adjustment of confounding factors. In conclusion, we observed significant gender differences in radiographic spinal involvement as well as other clinical manifestations among Korea patients with adult-onset ankylosing spondylitis. These findings may influence the timing of the diagnosis and the choice of treatment.

Adult onset Still's disease (AOSD) is a systemic inflammatory disorder of unknown etiology and pathogenesis. It is characterized by spiking fever, evanescent skin rash, arthralgia or arthritis, hepatosplenomegaly and laboratory abnormalities including neutrophilic leukocytosis, abnormal liver function tests and raised levels of serum ferritin. Coagulation abnormality is a rare presenting feature but it might be life threatening when associated with hepatopathy and hematologic abnormalities. We report two cases of AOSD with disseminated intravascular coagulation and multiple organ involvement, which improved with glucocorticoid and cyclosporine combination therapy.

Backgrounds Due to the low sensitivity of plain radiography, the diagnosis of early stage ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is often difficult since many patients do not meet the radiographic criteria. The objective of our study was to investigate the diagnostic value of performing multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) of the sacroiliac (SI) joint in the evaluation of AS patients. Methods Thirty seven patients with definite or probable AS were evaluated. Plain radiography and MDCT imaging of the pelvis were performed for evaluating the SI joints. Two radiologists analyzed the images, and they graded the sacroiliitis on a scale of 0-4 according to the modified NY criteria. The clinical variables we analyzed included the disease duration, the treatment duration, the prescribed drugs, peripheral joint involvement, enthesopathy, the functional limitations and the BASDAI.. Results MDCT detected more bilateral sacroiliitis as compared to the plain radiography (86.5% vs. 75.7%, respectively), and MDCT yielded a higher grade of disease in 32.4% (right SI joint) and 24.3% (left SI joint) of the patients. More patients satisfied the modified NY criteria with using MDCT as compared with that when using the plain radiography (81.1% vs. 54.1%, respectively, p=0.002). Conclusions Visualization of the sacroiliac joint by MDCT provided a better diagnosis of AS, and especially during the early stage of the disease.

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is known to play a critical role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Etanercept is a recombinant soluble fusion protein of TNF alpha type II receptor and IgG, which acts as a specific TNF-alpha antagonist. Anti-TNF-alpha therapy has been an important advance in the treatment of RA. However, induction of autoantibodies in some proportion of patients treated with TNF alpha inhibitors raised concerns for development of systemic autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Although new autoantibody formation is common with anti-TNF alpha therapy, there are only rare reports of overt SLE, most of which manifested without major organ involvement and resolved shortly after discontinuation of the therapy. We describe a 55-yr-old Korean woman who developed overt life threatening SLE complicated by pneumonia and tuberculosis following etanercept treatment for RA. This case is to our knowledge, the first report of etanercept-induced SLE in Korea.

Background To assess the efficacy of fenofibrate treatment in combination with urate lowering agents in patients with gout. Methods Fourteen male patients with chronic tophaceous or recurrent acute attacks of gout were evaluated in an open-label pilot study of the hypolipidemic agent, fenofibrate (Lipidil Supra® 160 mg/d). Patients were stable on urate lowering agents (allopurinol or benzbromarone) for ≥three months without acute attack for the most recent one month before participating. All patients were being treated with established doses of urate lowering agents without modification throughout the study. Clinical and biochemical assessments including serum uric acid, creatinine, liver function test and fasting serum lipid were measured at (1) baseline (2) after two months of fenofibrate treatment and (3) two months after fenofibrate was withdrawn. Results Serum uric acid was lowered by 23% after two months of fenofibrate treatment (6.93±2.16 vs. 5.22±1.16 mg/dL; p=0.016). Triglyceride levels were also reduced after fenofibrate treatment (p=0.001). However, this effect was reversed after the withdrawal (p=0.002) of the drug. Alkaline phosphatase was reduced after fenofibrate treatment (p=0.006), but increased 21% after the withdrawal of the drug (p=0.002). By contrast, serum levels of high density lipoprotein and creatinine were increased 9% (p=0.018) and 12% (p=0.006), respectively; however, both levels were significantly decreased to the baseline levels upon withdrawal of fenofibrate. Conclusions Fenofibrate can effectively reduce uric acid levels in addition to its known hypolipidemic effect. Fenofibrate may be used as a potential urate lowering agent in patients with gout, especially in those with coexisting hyperlipidemia.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) has been associated with sudden death in young athletes. On long-term follow up, syncope, chest pain and dyspnea are well known frequent symptoms due to the dynamic left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction, mitral regurgitation and diastolic dysfunction. To reduce the LVOT pressure gradient, septal myectomy and alcohol injection have recently been utilized. However, some complications have been reported with alcohol ablation of the septal branches, such as complete atrioventricular block and alcohol spill over to ablate the entire left anterior descending coronary artery. Herein, a case of coil embolization of the septal branches, with successful reduction of the LVOT pressure gradient, is reported in a patient with HOCM.

Background and Objectives：The purpose of the present study was to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of coronary stenoses in patients with ischemic heart disease using multidetector CT coronary angiography (MDCT) in the assessment of coronary artery disease. Subjects and Methods：Forty-three patients (49-72yrs) undergoing conventional coronary angiography (CCA) were included in this study. All patients were premedicated with oral propranolol, 40-80 mg, to achieve an acceptable heart rate of less than 65 bpm, 1hr before the MDCT. All coronary arteries, including the distal segments and side branches, were assessed with respect to assessability and the presence of significant stenosis (>50%) and the results compared with those of CCA. Results：Of the 645 coronary artery segments scanned, 540 were assessable (84%). A total 44 significant stenoses were detected by CCA and 49 lesions by MDCT. The overall sensitivity and specificity were 77 and 97%, respectively. The overall accuracy for the LAD, RCA and LCX was 94, 98 and 95%, respectively, and there were no differences in the accuracies in each vessel. The sensitivity in the proximal segments was much higher than in the distal segments. A total 15 segments were overestimated by the MDCT due to calcification and the small vessel size. Conclusion：MDCT, with improved spatial and temporal resolutions, and pre-treated with oral beta-blocker, permits the detection of coronary artery stenoses with a high degree

Background : Though mononuclear phagocytes serve as the final effectors in killing intracellular Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacilli readily survive in the intracellular environment of resting cells. The mechanisms through which cellular activation results in the intracellular killing is unclear. In this study, we sought to explore an in vitro model of a low-level infection of human mononuclear phagocytes with MAC and and determine the extent of the lymphocyte dependent cytotoxicity of human monocytes and alveolar macrophages. Materials and Methods : The peripheral monocytes were prepared using the Ficoll gradient method from PPD positive healthy people and tuberculosis patients. The alveolar macrophages were prepared from PPD positive healthy people via a bronchoalveolar lavage. The human mononuclear phagocytes were infected at a low infection rate (bacilli:phagocyte 1:10) with MAC(Mycobacterium avium) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis . Non-adherent cells(lymphocyte) were added at a 10:1 ratio. After 1,4, and 7 days culture in , 5% CO2 incubator, the cells were harvested and inoculated in a 7H10/OADC agar plate for the CFU assay. The bacilli were calculated with the CFU/ of the cells and the cytotoxicity was expressed as the log killing ratio. Results : The intracellular killing of MAC and within the monocyte was greater in patients with tuberculosis compared to the PPD positive controls (p within the alveolar macrophage appeared to be greater than that within the monocytes of the PPD positive controls. There was significant lymphocyte dependent inhibition of intracellular growth of the mycobacteria within the monocytes in both the controls and tuberculosis patients and within the macrophages in the controls(p. Conclusion : This study is an in vitro model of a low-level infection with MAC and of human mononuclear phagocytes. The intracellular cytotoxicity of the mycobacteria within the phagocytic cells was significantly lymphocyte dependent. During the 7 days culture after the intracellular phagocytosis, the actual confinement of the mycobacteria was observed within the monocytes of tuberculosis patients and the alveolar macrophages of the controls as in the case of adding lymphocytes.