Aravind Eye Hospital Research Articles

Association between in vitro susceptibility and clinical outcomes in fungal keratitis

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to assess the association between antifungal susceptibility as measured by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and clinical outcomes in fungal keratitis.MethodsThis pre-specified secondary analysis of the Mycotic Ulcer Treatment Trial II (MUTT II) involved patients with filamentous fungal keratitis presenting to Aravind Eye Hospitals in South India. Antifungal susceptibility testing for natamycin and voriconazole was performed on all samples with positive fungal culture results according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute Guidelines. The relationship between MIC and clinical outcomes of best-corrected visual acuity, infiltrate or scar size, corneal perforation, need for therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty, and time to re-epithelialization were assessed.ResultsWe obtained MIC values from 141 patients with fungal keratitis. The most commonly cultured organisms were Aspergillus (46.81%, n = 66) and Fusarium (44.68%, n = 63) species. Overall, there was no association between antifungal MICs and clinical outcomes. Subgroup analysis revealed that among Fusarium-positive cases, higher voriconazole MIC was correlated with worse three-month best-corrected visual acuity (p = 0.03), increased need for therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty (p = 0.04), and time to re-epithelialization (p = 0.03). No significant correlations were found among Aspergillus-positive cases. There were no significant correlations found between natamycin MIC and clinical outcomes among organism subgroups.ConclusionsDecreased susceptibility to voriconazole was associated with increased odds of requiring a therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty in Fusarium-positive cases. Susceptibility to natamycin was not associated with any of the measured outcomes.

Reusing surgical materials for cataract surgery: an assessment of potential contamination.

To evaluate microbiological cultures of cataract surgical devices and products that were reused for multiple cases. Aravind Eye Hospital, Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu, India. Prospective cohort study. Samples from multiple surgical instruments and products that were reused for consecutive cataract surgeries underwent bacterial and fungal cultures and were monitored alongside positive controls for 7 days. This included instruments that were processed using immediate use steam sterilization (IUSS) between cases (eg, surgical cannulas, syringes, phacoemulsification and coaxial/bimanual irrigation/aspiration [I/A] tips, phacoemulsification and I/A sleeves) (Group 1), instruments that were used without sterilization between cases (eg, phacoemulsification tubing/handpieces, coaxial I/A handpieces) (Group 2), and the residual (unused) fluid from balanced salt solution bags after being used for multiple patients (Group 3). 3333 discrete samples were collected from all 3 product groups that were reused across multiple patients. In all collected samples, no bacterial or fungal growth was observed. Of the 3241 cataract surgeries that used reused and IUSS-sterilized instruments alongside instrument sets cultured on the same day and balanced salt solution bags shared across multiple patients, no eyes developed endophthalmitis over a 6-week follow-up period. Bacterial or fungal growth was not found in extensive microbiological cultures of IUSS-sterilized ophthalmic surgical instruments and cataract surgical products that were reused in multiple patients. This microbiological data complements clinical endophthalmitis data from 2 million consecutive cases at the Aravind Eye Hospital, suggesting that their instrument and surgical supply processing practices may allow for safe and sustainable ophthalmic care.

Diagnosis of retinal damage using Resnet rescaling and support vector machine (Resnet-RS-SVM): a case study from an Indian hospital.

This study aims to address the challenge of identifying retinal damage in medical applications through a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) approach. Data was collected from four prominent eye hospitals in India for analysis and model development. Data was collected from Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH), Aravind Eye Hospital (Tamil Nadu), LV Prasad Eye Hospital (Hyderabad), and Medanta (Gurugram). A modified version of the ResNet-101 architecture, named ResNet-RS, was utilized for retinal damage identification. In this modified architecture, the last layer's softmax function was replaced with a support vector machine (SVM). The resulting model, termed ResNet-RS-SVM, was trained and evaluated on each hospital's dataset individually and collectively. The proposed ResNet-RS-SVM model achieved high accuracies across the datasets from the different hospitals: 99.17% for Aravind, 98.53% for LV Prasad, 98.33% for Medanta, and 100% for SMCH. When considering all hospitals collectively, the model attained an accuracy of 97.19%. The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the ResNet-RS-SVM model in accurately identifying retinal damage in diverse datasets collected from multiple eye hospitals in India. This approach presents a promising advancement in computer-aided diagnosis for improving the detection and management of retinal diseases.

A Comparative Analysis of Intraocular Pressure Measurement Accuracy With Reused iCare Probes

ObjectiveTo assess the accuracy of reused iCare probes after disinfection with 70% isopropyl alcohol and ethylene glycol compared to new iCare probes and Goldmann Applanation Tonometry (GAT). DesignProspective comparative analysis Participants118 eyes from 59 patients recruited from the Aravind Eye Hospital glaucoma clinic in Tirupati, South India. MethodsIntraocular pressure (IOP) was measured on each eye using a new iCare tonometer probe, an iCare probe previously used and disinfected one time prior (once used probe) and five times prior (multiply used probe), as well as with GAT. Probes were disinfected after each use with 70% isopropyl alcohol swabs and ethylene oxide sterilization. Main Outcome MeasuresAgreement demonstrated with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), mean difference in IOP values with limits of agreement, and Bland-Altman plots among IOP measurement approaches. ResultsCompared to new iCare probes, both once used probes (ICC=0.989, 95%CI 0.985–0.993) and multiply used probes (ICC=0.989, 95%CI 0.984–0.992) showed excellent agreement, and the mean difference in IOP was minimal for both once used probes (0.70 mmHg, 95%CI 0.29–1.11) and multiply used probes (0.75 mmHg, 95%CI 0.66–0.82) compared to new probes. Bland-Altman plots demonstrated minimal differences between new and reused probes across the spectrum of IOP. When comparing multiply used probes to once used probes, there was a high level of agreement (0.993 (95%CI 0.990-0.995) and negligible mean IOP difference 0.04 mmHg (95% CI -0.32-0.40). Additionally, ICC values for new probes (0.966, 95%CI 0.951–0.976), once used probes (0.958, 95%CI 0.940–0.971), and multiply used probes (0.957, 95%CI 0.938–0.970) compared to GAT were similar and all showed excellent agreement. Both new and reused iCare probes underestimated IOP by 2-3 mmHg compared to GAT. ConclusionsIn this prospective comparative analysis, we found that reusing iCare probes up to five times does not compromise the accuracy of IOP measurements when disinfected with 70% isopropyl alcohol swabs and ethylene oxide. Reusing iCare probes has the potential to transform care by reducing cost, decreasing environmental waste, and allowing for glaucoma screening camps and increased glaucoma monitoring in low resource settings leading to earlier identification and treatment of glaucoma.

Bridging the Camera Domain Gap With Image-to-Image Translation Improves Glaucoma Diagnosis.

The purpose of this study was to improve the automated diagnosis of glaucomatous optic neuropathy (GON), we propose a generative adversarial network (GAN) model that translates Optain images to Topcon images. We trained the GAN model on 725 paired images from Topcon and Optain cameras and externally validated it using an additional 843 paired images collected from the Aravind Eye Hospital in India. An optic disc segmentation model was used to assess the disparities in disc parameters across cameras. The performance of the translated images was evaluated using root mean square error (RMSE), peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), structural similarity index (SSIM), 95% limits of agreement (LOA), Pearson's correlations, and Cohen's Kappa coefficient. The evaluation compared the performance of the GON model on Topcon photographs as a reference to that of Optain photographs and GAN-translated photographs. The GAN model significantly reduced Optain false positive results for GON diagnosis, with RMSE, PSNR, and SSIM of GAN images being 0.067, 14.31, and 0.64, respectively, the mean difference of VCDR and cup-to-disc area ratio between Topcon and GAN images being 0.03, 95% LOA ranging from -0.09 to 0.15 and -0.05 to 0.10. Pearson correlation coefficients increased from 0.61 to 0.85 in VCDR and 0.70 to 0.89 in cup-to-disc area ratio, whereas Cohen's Kappa improved from 0.32 to 0.60 after GAN translation. Image-to-image translation across cameras can be achieved by using GAN to solve the problem of disc overexposure in Optain cameras. Our approach enhances the generalizability of deep learning diagnostic models, ensuring their performance on cameras that are outside of the original training data set.

Evaluation of a telemedicine-enabled universal eye health delivery model in rural southern India.

To evaluate the accuracy of tele-ophthalmic examination (TOE) for common ocular conditions in comparison with the gold-standard in-person examination (IPE) for diagnosis and treatment advice. In a prospective, diagnostic accuracy validation study, we recruited 339 consecutive new patients, aged ≥16 years, visiting a vision centre (VC) associated with Aravind Eye Hospital in south India during January and February, 2020. All participants underwent the TOE, followed by IPE on the same visit. The in-person ophthalmologist was masked to the TOE diagnosis and treatment advice. Data were analysed via the sensitivity specificity of TOE versus the gold-standard IPE. TOE achieved high sensitivity and specificity for identifying normal eyes with 87.4% and 93.5%, respectively. TOE had high sensitivity for cataracts (91.7%), infective conjunctivitis (72.2%), and moderate sensitivity for pterygium (62.5%), DR (57.1%), non-serious injury (41.7%), but low sensitivity for glaucoma (12.5%). TOE had high specificity ranging from 93.5% to 99.8% for all diagnoses. The sensitivity for treatment advice ranged from 58.1% to 77.2% and specificity from 96.9% to 100%. The TOE in VCs has acceptable accuracy to an IPE by an ophthalmologist for correctly identifying and treating major eye ailments. Through providing universal eye care to rural populations, this model may contribute to work toward achieving Universal Health Coverage, which is a linchpin of the health-related U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Shared Service Delivery Can Increase Client Engagement: A Study of Shared Medical Appointments

Problem definition: Clients and service providers alike often consider one-on-one service delivery to be ideal, assuming, perhaps unquestioningly, that devoting individualized attention best improves client outcomes. In contrast, in shared service delivery, clients are served in batches and the dynamics of group interaction could lead to increased client engagement, which could improve outcomes. However, the loss of privacy and personal connection might undermine engagement. The engagement dynamics in one-on-one and shared delivery models have not been rigorously studied. To the extent that shared delivery may result in comparable or better engagement than one-on-one delivery, service providers in a broad array of contexts may be able to create more value for clients by delivering service in batches. Methodology/results: We conducted a randomized controlled trial with 1,000 patients who were undergoing glaucoma treatment over a three-year period at a large eye hospital. Using verbatim and behavioral transcripts from more than 20,000 minutes of video recorded during our trial, we examine how shared medical appointments (SMAs), in which patients are served in batches, impact engagement. On average, a patient who experienced SMAs asked 33.3% more questions per minute and made 8.6% more nonquestion comments per minute. Because there were multiple patients in an SMA, this increase in engagement at the individual patient level resulted in patients hearing far more comments in the group setting. Patients in SMAs also exhibited higher levels of nonverbal engagement across a wide array of measures (attentiveness, positivity, head wobbling, or “thalai aattam” in Tamil: a South Indian gesture to signal agreement or understanding, eye contact, and end-of-appointment happiness), relative to patients who attended one-on-one appointments. Managerial implications: These results shed light on the potential for shared service delivery models to increase client engagement and thus enhance service performance. Funding: This work was supported by the Wheeler Institute at London Business School (WIBAD Ramdas_Sonmez CFP19), the Institute of Entrepreneurship and Private Capital at London Business School (IIE_3432_2019), Aravind Eye Hospital, and Harvard Business School. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2021.0012 .

Rapid Point-of-Care Identification of Aspergillus Species in Microbial Keratitis

Microbial keratitis (MK) is a common cause of unilateral visual impairment, blindness, and eye loss in low-income and middle-income countries. There is an urgent need to develop and implement rapid and simple point-of-care diagnostics for MK to increase the likelihood of good outcomes. To evaluate the diagnostic performance of the Aspergillus-specific lateral-flow device (AspLFD) to identify Aspergillus species causing MK in corneal scrape and corneal swab samples of patients presenting with microbial keratitis. This diagnostic study was conducted between May 2022 and January 2023 at the corneal clinic of Aravind Eye Hospital in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. All study participants were recruited during their first presentation to the clinic. Patients aged 15 years or older met the eligibility criteria if they were attending their first appointment, had a corneal ulcer that was suggestive of a bacterial or fungal infection, and were about to undergo diagnostic scrape and culture. Sensitivity and specificity of the AspLFD with corneal samples collected from patients with MK. During routine diagnostic scraping, a minimally invasive corneal swab and an additional corneal scrape were collected and transferred to aliquots of sample buffer and analyzed by lateral-flow device (LFD) if the patient met the inclusion criteria. Photographs of devices were taken with a smartphone and analyzed using a ratiometric approach, which was developed for this study. The AspLFD results were compared with culture reports. The 198 participants who met the inclusion criteria had a mean (range) age of 51 (15-85) years and included 126 males (63.6%). Overall, 35 of 198 participants with corneal scrape (17.7%) and 17 of 40 participants with swab samples (42.5%) had positive culture results for Aspergillus species. Ratiometric analysis results for the scrape samples found that the AspLFD achieved high sensitivity (0.89; 95% CI, 0.74-0.95), high negative predictive value (0.97; 95% CI, 0.94-0.99), low negative likelihood ratio (0.12; 95% CI, 0.05-0.30), and an accuracy of 0.94 (95% CI, 0.90-0.97). Ratiometric analysis results for the swab samples showed that the AspLFD had high sensitivity (0.94; 95% CI, 0.73-1.00), high negative predictive value (0.95; 95% CI, 0.76-1.00), low negative likelihood ratio (0.07; 95% CI, 0.01-0.48), and an accuracy of 0.88 (95% CI, 0.73-0.96). Results of this diagnostic study suggest that AspLFD along with the ratiometric analysis of LFDs developed for this study has high diagnostic accuracy in identifying Aspergillus species from corneal scrapes and swabs. This technology is an important step toward the provision of point-of-care diagnostics for MK and could inform the clinical management strategy.

Comparison of cataract surgery outcomes between a secondary and a tertiary eye hospital in Tamil Nadu, India.

To examine the difference in post-operative visual outcomes of cataract surgeries between a tertiary and secondary centre at Aravind Eye Hospitals in Tamil Nadu, India. Our retrospective cross-sectional study analysed cataract surgeries at a secondary centre and its associated tertiary centre in 2021. Our main outcome measures were postoperative best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), spherical equivalent, and intraoperative and postoperative complications. Two-sample proportion testsand logisticregression analyses were performed. The analysis of 32,302 cataract surgeries in 2021 of which 4357 were performed at the secondary centre and 27,945 were performed at the tertiary centre showed that the tertiary centre operated on more advanced cataract condition (p < 0.001). Intraoperative (p < 0.001) and post-operative complication rates (p < 0.001) were higher in the tertiary centre. The odds of effective outcomes (BCVA > = 6/12) controlling for all covariates are poorer (p < 0.0001) in the tertiary centre for both phacoemulsification (phaco) and manual small incision cataract surgeries (MSICS). World Health Organization recommendations for the effective outcome of cataract surgery are met by both the tertiary and secondary centres, but the odds of effective outcomes in the tertiary centre was lower after adjusting for all known factors. Further investigations of the causes of poor vision in both phaco andMSICS in the tertiary centre are needed to improve the situation.

Impact of practicing internal benchmarking on continuous improvement of cataract surgery outcomes: a retrospective observational study at Aravind Eye Hospitals, India

ObjectiveWe aim to assess the effectiveness of a cataract surgery outcome monitoring tool used for continuous quality improvement. The objectives are to study: (1) the quality parameters, (2) the monitoring...

Assessing the Impact of Image Quality on Deep Learning Classification of Infectious Keratitis

To investigate the impact of corneal photograph quality on convolutional neural network (CNN) predictions. A CNN trained to classify bacterial and fungal keratitis was evaluated using photographs of ulcers labeled according to 5 corneal image quality parameters: eccentric gaze direction, abnormal eyelid position, over/under-exposure, inadequate focus, and malpositioned light reflection. All eligible subjects with culture and stain-proven bacterial and/or fungal ulcers presenting to Aravind Eye Hospital in Madurai, India, between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021. Convolutional neural network classification performance was compared for each quality parameter, and gradient class activation heatmaps were generated to visualize regions of highest influence on CNN predictions. Area under the receiver operating characteristic and precision recall curves were calculated to quantify model performance. Bootstrapped confidence intervals were used for statistical comparisons. Logistic loss was calculated to measure individual prediction accuracy. Individual presence of either light reflection or eyelids obscuring the corneal surface was associated with significantly higher CNN performance. No other quality parameter significantly influenced CNN performance. Qualitative review of gradient class activation heatmaps generally revealed the infiltrate as having the highest diagnostic relevance. The CNN demonstrated expert-level performance regardless of image quality. Future studies may investigate use of smartphone cameras and image sets with greater variance in image quality to further explore the influence of these parameters on model performance. Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found after the references.

Managing Outpatient Cycle Times in Hospitals Using Integrated Closed-Loop Approaches.

Long waiting times in outpatient clinics have multiple adverse effects on patients and their attendants, staff and hospital management. Several approaches practiced to manage the cycle time have been proposed. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of implementing closed-loop based multiple approaches together. This study was conducted in Aravind Eye Hospital (AEH), Madurai, India where several approaches to manage cycle times have been implemented over the years. Scheduling system was introduced to manage COVID-19 specific norms. We compared the cycle times in general outpatient clinics in a regime in which multiple approaches were practiced together before and after introducing scheduling to regimes in which individual approaches were practiced. We analysed how the cycle time varied by patient load. Cycle time for all patient days when the combined approach was used was 19% lower than baseline, and better than under each of the individual approaches. The outcome sustained even during the COVID-19 pandemic that necessitated additional processes and procedures. Therefore, implementing multiple approaches can be more effective to reduce the cycle time than implementing individual approaches.

Coincidental Ocular Abnormalities Found in Telescreening of Retinopathy of Prematurity Conducted During the COVID Pandemic at Aravind Eye Hospital, Coimbatore, India.

Gosalia, Hirika MBBS; Kene, Rakshita D. MBBS; Oh, Minn PhD; Shah, Parag K. DNB; Campbell, John P. MD, MPH; Paul Chan, R.V. MD, MSc, MBA; Venkatapathy, Narendran DNB Author Information

Research Partnerships and Guidance in Academic Global Ophthalmology.

Research Partnerships and Guidance in Academic Global Ophthalmology.

Clinical features, management, and outcomes of expulsive choroidal hemorrhage during cataract surgery: 13-year experience of a tertiary eye center.

To study the risk factors, clinical features, management, and outcomes of intraoperative expulsive choroidal hemorrhage (ECH) during cataract surgery. Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. Retrospective hospital-based study. Of the 1 167 250 patients who underwent cataract surgery between 2008 and 2020, patients diagnosed with intraoperative ECH were included. Demography, ocular and systemic risk factors, visual acuity, type of ocular anesthesia, intraoperative and postoperative records, management, and surgical outcomes were analyzed. 52 eyes (0.004%) of 1 167 250 patients had ECH. Of the 52 cases, 43 cases (incidence rate 0.006%) were reported in the years 2008 to 2015 and 9 cases (incidence rate 0.002%) in the years 2016 to 2020. The change in the ocular anesthesia from peribulbar and retrobulbar anesthesia (2008 to 2015) to sub-Tenon anesthesia (2016 to 2020) was associated with a reduced rate of ECH ( P = .002). 28 eyes (53.8%) experienced limited ECH and 24 eyes (46.2%) full-blown ECH. The visual outcome was better in eyes with limited ECH compared with full-blown suprachoroidal hemorrhage in all follow-up visits. The median vision (interquartile range) before the cataract surgery and at postoperative day 1 were 1.30 (0.78 to 2.60) and 2.45 (1 to 2.75), respectively. The median final vision (interquartile range) after the secondary surgical intervention was 2.2 (0.60 to 2.60). This series included 52 eyes with ECH, recognized associations of ECH with different types of anesthesia and with different cataract surgical procedures, and described management of ECH. Postoperative visual outcome was poor.

Antiamoebic Susceptibility in Acanthamoeba Keratitis: Comparison of Isolates From South India and Northern California.

Outcomes of Acanthamoeba keratitis are often worse in India than in the United States. The goal of this study was to determine whether antiamoebic susceptibility patterns were different when comparing Acanthamoeba isolates from India with those of the United States. Acanthamoeba isolates were obtained from corneal scrapings of 43 patients with infectious keratitis seen at the Francis I. Proctor Foundation (N = 23) and Aravind Eye Hospital (N = 20) from 2008 through 2012 and plated on growth media. A previously described minimum cysticidal concentration (MCC) assay was performed by a single laboratory technician to assess susceptibility to 5 antiamoebic agents for all isolates. Testing was conducted in triplicate, with the median MCC chosen for analyses. The MCC (μg/mL) of polyhexamethylene biguanide was 6.25 [IQR 5.47-12.5] for Aravind isolates and 6.25 [IQR 6.25-9.375] for Proctor isolates ( P = 0.75), corresponding values were 6.25 [IQR 3.125-6.25] and 3.125 [IQR 3.125-9.375] for chlorhexidine ( P = 0.81), 2500 [IQR 2500-5000] and 5000 [IQR 1250-20,000] for voriconazole ( P = 0.25), 15.6 [IQR 15.6-39.0625] and 15.6 [IQR 15.6-31.25] for hexamidine ( P = 0.92), and 15.6 [IQR 7.81-15.6] and 15.6 [IQR 7.81-31.25] for propamidine ( P = 0.42). This study found no statistically significant differences in antiamoebic susceptibility of Indian versus US samples from Acanthamoeba keratitis clinical isolates. These findings suggest that differences in antiamoebic susceptibility are likely not responsible for differential outcomes in Acanthamoeba keratitis between the 2 locations.

Outcomes of manual small incision cataract surgery in hypermature/morgagnian cataract.

To evaluate the visual outcome and complication rate of manual small incision cataract surgery (MSICS) in hypermature morgagnian cataract (HMC). Aravind Eye Hospital, Pondicherry, India. Retrospective, single center study. Case records of patients diagnosed with HMC and who underwent MSICS from January to December 2019 were retrospectively collected. Data were analyzed for demographic details, preoperative risk factors, intraoperative/postoperative complications, and visual outcome at 1-month follow-up. 105 patients were included in the study. Preoperative risk factors like dense pseudoexfoliation were seen in 6 patients (5.7%), phacolytic glaucoma in 7 patients (6.7%), lens induced uveitis in 5 (4.7%), and phacodonesis in 30 patients (28.5%). Overall intraoperative complication rate was 14.3%, which included posterior capsular rent (n = 4), zonular dialysis (n = 7), and whole bag removal (n = 4). Due to poor posterior capsular bag support, 7 patients (6.6%) did not receive intraocular lens implantation in primary surgery. Both the intraoperative and postoperative complication rate were high in those with risk factors, and this difference was statistically significant ( P < .001 and .0005, respectively). On the first postoperative day, 70 patients (66.7%) had a corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) better than 20/40, and at 1 month, 98 patients (93.3%) had a CDVA of 20/60 or better of which 89.5% had CDVA of ≥20/40. MSICS for hypermature cataract is relatively safe and yields adequate visual outcome. Preoperative risk factors, in addition to hypermaturity, increase the complication rate.

Evaluation of artificial intelligence-based retinopathy of prematurity screening in South India

Artificial intelligence (AI) based retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) screening has shown promise in India, but there remains a gap in knowledge as to how to implement AI, and how well it would perform against the clinical diagnosis of treatment-requiring (TR) ROP. The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the performance of the i-ROP DL algorithm, and a vascular severity score (VSS) against clinical diagnosis of treatment-requiring (TR) ROP in the Aravind Eye Hospital (AEH) network.

Commentary: Retinal detachment in eyes treated with Aurolab aqueous drainage implant for refractory glaucoma - Incidence and outcomes

The principal indication for glaucoma drainage devices (GDDs) is usually glaucoma refractory to filtering surgery.[1] Currently, commonly available GDDs are either valved like the Ahmed glaucoma valve (AGV; New World Medical Inc., Rancho Cucamonga, CA, USA) or non-valved GDDs like the Baerveldt glaucoma implant (BGI; Abbott Medical Optics, Abbott Park, IL, USA) and Aurolab aqueous drainage implant (AADI; Aurolab, Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, India), which have been shown to be safe and effective in both pediatric and adult populations. AADI has certain advantages over AGV. Since it is indigenously manufactured, it is highly cost-effective when compared to AGV. Studies have shown that it has a higher success rate, achieves significantly lower intraocular pressure (IOP), and the patients require less number of anti-glaucoma medications postoperatively. Some studies also indicate that the long-term IOP control is better with AADI when compared to that with AGV.[123] Postoperative posterior segment complications that may arise after usage of GDDs are hypotony and its consequences like hypotony maculopathy, serous choroidal effusion, choroidal detachment, suprachoroidal hemorrhage, retinal detachment, and endophthalmitis.[45] Overall, retinal complications have been described in 14%-50% of eyes with GDD implantation and majority occur within 35 days after GDD implantation.[5] Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) occurs in approximately 5% of eyes after aqueous humor shunt implantation, with most occurring within 4 months of surgery.[6] Khan et al.[7] reported the incidence of RRD after AADI and AGV implantation to be 5.4% and 4.3%, respectively. The present authors analyzed the outcomes of 10 cases of RRD/1158 (0.86%) cases after AADI implantation.[8] Few points are to be kept in mind in these cases. As has been pointed out by the authors, some predisposing factors for the development of retinal detachment may have been there, such as uveitis, vitreous incarceration, scleral perforation, and retinal dialysis after pars plana tube placement. Nowadays, vitrectomy is often the preferred mode of treatment than scleral buckling procedure. Intraoperative choroidal drainage is often required as these RRDs are frequently associated with choroidal detachment. Rarely, suprachoroidal hemorrhage (SCH) is also a concomitant complication and intraoperative drainage of SCH is sometimes required. Moreover, retinal detachment after appositional choroidal effusion or expulsive hemorrhage can result in retinal adhesions, which are to be tackled meticulously. Use of heavy fluid perfluorocarbon liquid is particularly beneficial for retinal reattachment. Silicone oil is the preferred mode of endotamponade and it is recommended to use it at the end of surgery. Postoperative visual prognosis is often compromised as the chance of recurrence of retinal detachment is high. The present authors have also highlighted that poor visual recovery is primarily due to recurrent RRD as well as preexisting glaucoma. Tube blockade by silicone oil droplets may result in rise of IOP postoperatively, further worsening the glaucoma status. Many times, migration of emulsified silicone oil particles into the subconjunctival space through both the valved and non-valved devices has been reported.[910] When a scleral buckle is to be placed in a case with a preexisting GDD, utmost care should be taken to avoid the displacement of the tube placed in the anterior chamber. Studies have also shown the occurrence of phthisis bulbi following aqueous humor shunt implantation.[11] So, as has been concluded by the authors, vitrectomy with silicone oil tamponade appears to be the preferred approach in the management of these eyes, with IOP being well controlled post-vitrectomy, but it should be kept in mind that the visual outcomes are largely unsatisfactory due to recurrent RRD and preexisting advanced glaucoma.

Evaluation of patient satisfaction in outpatient departments of selected eye care hospitals in the Hyderabad City, Telangana State

The degree of agreement between a patient's expectations of optimal treatment and their evaluation of the actual care they got has been defined as the level of patient satisfaction. Medical service quality and cost-effectiveness, doctor conduct and attitude, the cost of services, hospital infrastructural facilities, physical comfort and psychological care, as well as empathy for clients' testimonies all go towards a patient's satisfaction with their healthcare facility experience. To determine how satisfied patients are with the out-patient department (OPD) services at five different eye care facilities in Hyderabad, Telangana, and the variables influencing patient satisfaction. To conduct the study, the out-patient department of LV Prasad Eye Institute: Banjara Hills, Vasavi Eye Care &amp; Diabetic Center: Chandanagar, Aravind Eye Hospital &amp; Institute: Mehdipatnam, Sri Madhavi Eye Care Hospital: Habsiguda, Dr. Agarwal Eye Hospital: Panjagutta in Hyderabad city, Telangana state was visited by researchers from 01.04.2021 to 30.06.2021. To choose patients for the out-patient section of the hospital, a systematic random technique was adopted.