ObjectiveTo comparatively analyze for the fundus characteristics of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) with cytomegalovirus retinitis (CMVR) between first-visit and non-first-visit in ophthalmology.MethodsA retrospective study was performed for 22 patients (41 eyes) diagnosed as CMVR with AIDS by ophthalmology in the Affiliated Municipal Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University from July 2004 to September 2017. The patients were divided into two groups: one with the first-visit in ophthalmology (FVO) and the other with the first-visit in non-ophthalmology (FVNO). All patients underwent visual acuity, intraocular pressure, slit lamp microscope and indirect ophthalmoscope examinations. Thirty-nine eyes of 21 patients with clear refractive media were examined by color fundus photography, of which 5 patients were examined by FFA. Five patients examined by OCT and B-mode ultrasound. The CMVR were characterized as fulminant type or indolent type. All the 22 patients (41 eyes) except 2 patients (4 eyes) accepted highly active antiroviral therapy, and all patients were treated with ganciclovir intravenously. Nine patients (12 eyes) received intravitreal injection of ganciclovir, 7 patients (10 eyes) underwent vitrectomy because of retinal detachment, 6 patients (7 eyes) gave up surgery because of extensive retinal detachment, and the other 12 eyes did not undergo any eye surgery. All patients were followed for 6-58 months (average 23±39 months). The incidences and fundus characteristics of the patients with fulminant or indolent CMVR were compared and analyzed. Between the two groups, the difference of visual acuity and CD4+T cell count at the first vist and the last follow-up were analyzed by a t-test, and the macular involvement and spread of the two groups were compared by a chi-square test.ResultsFulminant CMVR showed dense yellow-white necrotic lesions along the great vessels with or without satellite lesions, while indolent CMVR showed sparse yellow-white granular lesions with a little bleeding. The concomitant signs included frost-like dendritic vascular sheath, retinal artery occlusion and optic disc edema. Fourteen eyes of 7 patients in FVO group were fulminant, including 2 patients (2 eyes) with retinal artery occlusion and 1 patient (two eyes) with optic disc edema. In FVNO group, there were 27 eyes of 15 patients, including 21 eyes of 13 cases identified as fulminant type and 6 eyes of 4 patients as indolent type. In the fulminant type, there were 4 patients (6 eyes) with frost-like dendritic vascular sheath, 10 patients (12 eyes) with retinal artery occlusion and 4 patients (4 eyes) with optic disc edema. There was no significant difference in initial visual acuity (t=－1.534, P=0.133), but there was a significant difference in visual acuity at the last follow-up (t=－3.420, P=0.001). There was no significant difference in CD4+ T cells between the two groups at the first visit (t=－0.902, P=0.378). The proportions of macular involvement and 3-4 quadrant involvement in FVO group were significantly higher than those in FVNO group (χ2=7.552, 7.865; P=0.006, 0.005).ConclusionFor AIDS patients with CMVR, the first-visit in ophthalmology showed more dense necrotic lesions involving macular and a wider range of lesions than the first-visit in non-ophthalmology.
Ultra-wide-field fluorescein angiography (UWFA) can obtain very wide retinal images (up to 200°), and is a very helpful tool to detect peripheral retinal lesions which cannot be found by other imaging methods. Analyzing the characteristics of the UWFA images may improve our understanding, treatment outcomes and management strategies of ocular fundus diseases. However this technology is still in its premature stage, there is still a lot of work to be done to improve its clinical application and study the characteristics and clinical meanings of these peripheral retinal lesions.
Ultra-wide field fundus autofluorescence (FAF) imaging is a new noninvasive technique with an imaging range of about 200 °. It can detect peripheral retinal lesions that cannot be found in previous FAFs and more objectively reflect intracellular content and distribution of lipofuscin in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and RPE cell metabolic status. The ultra-wide field FAF can find the abnormal autofluorescence (AF) in the peripheral retina of the eyes of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and different AF manifestations may have an impact on the diagnosis and treatment of the different AMD subtypes. It is helpful to evaluate subretinal fluid in the eyes of central serous choroidal retinopathy and can accurately detect the changes in the outer retina of the eyes without subretinal fluid. It can help to determine the type of uveitis and fully display the evolution of the disease. It can also assess the peripheral photoreceptor cell layer and RPE in patients with retinal dystrophy and retinitis pigmentosa, and comprehensively evaluate their retinal function and monitor the progress of disease. It can also assist in the evaluation of the short-term efficacy and RPE cell function after the scleral buckling surgery for patients with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. In the future, ultra-wide field FAF may change the knowledge and intervention strategy of ocular fundus diseases and promote the clinical and scientific research in this field.
With the perspective of evidence-based medicine, this review aims to investigate the effectiveness and safety of off-label drug use of bevacizumab for eye disease, and explore the barriers to further study. And then, suggestions for the supported evidence and clinical use of off-label drug use will be provided based on this case.
With the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), especially deep learning, AI research in the field of ophthalmology has presented a trend of diversification in disease types, generalization in scenarios and deepening in researches. The AI algorithm has showed a good performance in the studies of diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma and other ocular diseases, yielding up the great potential of ophthalmic AI. However, most studies are still in their infancy, and the application of ophthalmic AI still faces many challenges such as lack of interpretability for results, deficiency of data standardization, and insufficiency of clinical applicability. At the same time, it should also be noted that the development of multi-modal imaging, the innovation of digital technologies (such as 5G and the Internet of Things) and telemedicine, and the new discovery that retina status can reflect systemic diseases have brought new opportunities for the development of ophthalmic AI. Learn the current status of AI research in the field of ophthalmology, grasp the new challenges and opportunities in its development process, successfully realizing the transformation of ophthalmic AI from research to practical application.