Optometry Advisor

Area Deprivation Index (ADI) may be a key to identifying a population’s potential adherence to diabetic retinopathy screening, according to data published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology. ADI is a composite score that reflects the socioeconomic conditions of a neighborhood by incorporating measures of income, education, employment, and housing. One million Medicare beneficiaries with a diagnosis of diabetes were included in the retrospective cohort study.

A semifluorinated alkane (SFA)-based cyclosporine A eyedrop (VEVYE®, cyclosporine ophthalmic solution 0.1%) is associated with a clinically and statistically significant improvement in both patient-reported dry eye disease (DED) symptoms and corneal staining with 6 months or more of use, according to research published in Clinical Ophthalmology. These results may indicate the drops can offer effective treatments for moderate dry eye disease.

Eyes with high myopia may undergo distinct 3-dimensional remodeling patterns that can be linked to ocular outcomes beyond axial elongation, research published in JAMA Ophthalmology suggests. These outcomes can include myopic macular degeneration (MMD) progression, myopic traction maculopathy (MTM), posterior staphyloma (PS), and visual function impairments.

Suppressive valacyclovir treatment does not significantly reduce the overall risk of keratitis or iritis but does reduce multiple episodes in patients with herpes zoster ophthalmicus at 12 and 18 months, according to data from ZEDS published in JAMA Ophthalmology. Herpes zoster in the eye can result in scarring and significant vision loss.

Lacrimal sac massage is noninferior to lacrimal duct probing for treating congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction (CNLDO) in infants, according to findings from a randomized trial published in JAMA Ophthalmology. The prevalence of CNLDO is ~6% among infants and the condition presents with epiphora and mucopurulent discharge. Lacrimal duct probing is associated with a high efficacy rate, but it is invasive and poses risk for pain, infection, and local trauma.

Children under age 8 should undergo HOTV testing to avoid unnecessary referrals, according to the results of a clinical trial published in JAMA Ophthalmology. The trial (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05770661) assessed whether uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) in children is more accurately identified with HOTV or tumbling E vision tests. The researchers evaluated students aged 3 to 15 years from 3 kindergartens, 1 primary school, and 1 middle school.

Virtual reality-based digital defocus vision training (DDVT) may offer a safe adjunctive home-based approach to slowing myopia progression in children, according to a randomized clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:NCT07042022) published in JAMA Ophthalmology. Researchers evaluated 120 children aged 6 to 12 years with myopia who were enrolled in July 2024 at a single center in Guangzhou, China.

Picture this: You are 8 weeks and 3 remakes into fitting a 55-year-old keratoconic patient with a new scleral lens. Everything about the fit looks right: appropriate central clearance, a lens back surface that parallels the surface of the cornea, flush haptic landing in every meridian, no limbal bearing. You observe no reason for reduced visual potential: no apical scarring, visually significant cataract, or retinal disease. But despite your best efforts, your patient complains of poor vision.

No surges in microbial resistance in infectious keratitis (IK) cases are anticipated through 2030, according to study results published in Cornea. Infectious keratitis (IK) is an ophthalmic emergency that can result in irreversible visual impairment and is the leading cause of corneal blindness worldwide. The prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in IK has been increasing in recent years.

Spectacle lenses with highly aspherical lenslets (HAL) provide a greater long-term reduction in myopia progression than single-vision spectacle lenses (SVL) for pediatric patients, according to clinical trial results published in JAMA Ophthalmology. Researchers in China and Vietnam have found that HAL spectacles slow myopia progression, but little research has evaluated their use in the United States.