Ellen Kurek

Even when a 32-gauge needle was used, intravitreal injection posed a risk of introducing contamination directly into the eye. However, of all the needle gauges studied, the 27-gauge needle posed the greatest risk.

Although differences between treatment groups in best-corrected visual acuity were not statistically significant, combination treatment reduced central macular thickness and macular volume statistically significantly more than bevacizumab alone.

A large observational study of results in routine clinical practice showed that visual acuity outcomes 12 months after Aflibercept or Ranibizumab treatment did not differ, and neither did the number of injections required for each agent.

The only factor that predicted visual outcomes one year after nAMD diagnosis was baseline visual acuity, which maintained its predictive ability five years after diagnosis. Visual acuity increased more frequently in women.

In an 84-year-old woman with AMD and acute deterioration in vision, the oral antioxidant supplement Resvega led to regression of subretinal fluid and eliminated the need for intravitreal injection of an anti-VEGF agent over the course of 9 months.

An optical coherence tomography study found that, after three monthly treatments,aAflibercept was 7 times more effective than ranibizumab in resolving serous pigment epithelium detachment, though neither treatment improved visual acuity in these patients to a statistically significant degree.

Vitrectomy plus subretinal injection of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) reduced scar area moreso than pneumatic displacement plus intravitreal injection of tPA. Visual acuity improved noticeably after both of these treatments, but not after treatment with pneumatic displacement alone.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) was 72% more likely to develop in end-stage renal disease patients than in control subjects and 74% more likely to develop in peritoneal dialysis patients than in hemodialysis patients.

After 12 months of follow-up, a Japanese team found a trend toward greater BCVA improvement in the Eylea group than in the Lucentis group but no statistically significant differences between groups in BCVA or central foveal thickness.

No difference in the superficial capillary plexuses was found in cases of diabetic macular edema that responded well to anti-vascular endothelial growth factor as opposed to those that didn't, but poor responders had more damage and microaneurysms in the deep capillary plexus.

A graft consisting of a monolayer sheet of RPE or a complex graft of RPE and Bruch’s membrane were found equally effective in restoring visual function and central fixation stability.

One year after beginning Lucentis treatment for diabetic macular edema, the group who had a decrease in visual acuity also had the greatest decrease in HbA1c level.

Although 35% of US patients hospitalized for an asthma exacerbation were current smokers, only 55% of current smokers received a smoking cessation intervention during their hospital stay.

A retrospective cohort analysis showed patients with severe asthma and elevated eosinophil levels accounted for only 3% of all asthma patients but an estimated $1.3 billion in costs due to hospital admission for asthma exacerbation.

Allergen immunotherapy can reduce symptoms of allergic rhinitis and asthma and decrease the need for medication, but it poses the risk of asthma exacerbation or anaphylaxis, particularly in patients with uncontrolled asthma.

After 6 months of treatment with inhaled budesonide, 800 μg daily, bronchial hyperresponsiveness was greater and the proportion of eosinophils in induced sputum and improvement in lung function were lower in smokers than in nonsmokers with asthma.

A French population-based study indicated that better drug therapy could prevent many hospital admissions for asthma exacerbations.

Once-daily tiotropium added to inhaled corticosteroids was safe and well tolerated in a phase 3 trial in nearly 400 asthmatic adolescents.

The percentage of patients with adverse events was comparable in the tiotropium and the placebo treatment groups in pooled data from seven phase 2 and 3 studies in nearly 3,500 adults.

Contrary to the previously published literature on cardiac function in asthma patients, Turkish researchers observed no diastolic dysfunction in a group of 50 asthmatic children evaluated in a recent echocardiographic study, even with tissue Doppler imaging.

Increasing evidence supports the possibility that alterations in gut microbiota may influence susceptibility to asthma and allergic diseases such as eczema and food allergies.

Investigators found poor asthma control in obese or overweight patients despite optimal treatment and significantly higher BMI values in those with uncontrolled asthma than in those with partially or totally controlled asthma.

Endothelial activation and levels of C-reactive protein, plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1, and von Willebrand factor increased during asthma exacerbations in a study of 22 pediatric patients.

Retrospective study results indicate that golimumab may be a new and effective choice for maintaining remission and preventing recurrence of severe, recurrent anterior uveitis in patients with HLA-B27-positive ankylosing spondylitis.

Adalimumab, infliximab, and etanercept, reduced the number of uveitis relapses in a retrospective, long-term study of uveitis patients with HLA-B27-positive ankylosing spondylitis who had taken one of these biological agents for at least 1 year.

A long-acting fluocinolone acetonide implant improved visual acuity and controlled intraocular inflammation for 2 years in 11 eyes of 11 patients with noninfectious intermediate uveitis, posterior uveitis, or panuveitis.

Because of the potentially devastating neurologic consequences of syphilis, this sexually transmitted disease should be considered in all patients who initially appear with uveitis.

In a post hoc statistical analysis of data from 61 consecutive patients diagnosed with intermediate uveitis, the central foveal thickness cut-off value for starting systemic corticosteroid treatment was determined to be 215.5 μm. This value was found to have a sensitivity of 62.5% and a specificity of 96.4%.

In a 30-year retrospective study of a cohort of patients with uveitis associated with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), risk factors for the development of hypotony during follow-up were associated with more severe uveitis. Because JIA-associated uveitis is often asymptomatic, hypotony may be a key indicator of uveitis in JIA patients.

A Danish electronic records review found that the need for Eylea or Lucentis injections for wet age-related macular degeneration did not change after cataract surgery. Also, vision improved more when the time from last injection to cataract surgery was shorter than when it was longer.