To report on Acanthamoeba keratitis cases in a tertiary university eye-hospital in Graz, Austria, over a 21-year period. Retrospective study. Parameters included demographics, diagnostics, clinical courses, medical therapies, surgical interventions, secondary complications, and best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA). Patient records for 44 eyes of 42 patients were analysed; 2 bilateral infections. Mean age at presentation was 31 ± 13 (16–65) years; contact lenses were used in 41 of 44 eyes (93.2%). Symptoms at initial presentation were mainly pain (41/43, 95.3%) and photophobia (16/43, 37.2%). Most frequent morphological findings were stromal infiltrates (30/44, 68.2%). Diagnosis was mainly confirmed by smears (40/42, 95.2%) and polymerase chain reaction (8/42, 19%). Antiamoebic treatment comprised biguanides and diamidines. Penetrating keratoplasty was performed in 10/44 (22.7%) eyes. Median time from symptom onset to initial visit was 2 (0–26) weeks; median follow-up was 30 (2–1008) weeks. BSCVA improved in 23/36 (63.9%) eyes, remained unchanged in 6/36 (16.7%) eyes and deteriorated in 7/36 (19.4%) eyes. Acanthamoeba keratitis predominantly occurs in young contact lens wearers. Diagnosis should be considered in patients with pain and stromal infiltrates. In the majority of cases, BSCVA can be improved. Early diagnosis and adequate treatment should be implemented to prevent complications.

Our results suggest that the presence or absence of PVD might be a valuable hint for diagnosing glaucoma - however, further research is needed to determine whether PVD can be used to supplement current glaucoma screening guidelines.

PurposeThis study compares the presence of vitreous hyper-reflective dots (VHDs) detected with optical coherence tomography (OCT) between eyes with pseudophakic cystoid macular edema (CME) and those with no CME after cataract surgery. In addition, we evaluated the impact of VHDs on the responsiveness of pseudophakic CME to cortisone treatment.SettingDepartment of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Graz, Austria.DesignRetrospective, monocenter case-controlled study.MethodsInclusion criteria for the study group and the control group were CME and no CME within 12 weeks following uneventful phacoemulsification in otherwise healthy eyes, respectively. VHDs (number and size) and the macular thickness were assessed with OCT. Furthermore, the number of peribulbar or intravitreal steroid injections was assessed.ResultsA total of 284 eyes from 267 patients were analyzed, among which 119 met the inclusion criteria for the study (n = 63) and the control group (n = 56). VHDs were observed in 54 (85.7%) study eyes and 21 (37.5%, p = 0.013) control eyes. The number of VHDs was 3.9±3.4 in the study group and 0.7±1 in the control group (p<0.001). The size of the VHDs was 33.5±9.1 μm and 36.6±17.9 μm in the study and control groups, respectively (p = 0.978). Overall, the number of VHDs correlated with central subfield thickness (r = 0.584, p<0.001), cube volume (r = 0.525, p<0.001), and postoperative best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) (r = -0.563, p<0.001). The number of VHDs did not correlate with the frequency of peribulbar or intravitreal steroid injections.ConclusionVHDs occurred more often in eyes with CME than in eyes without CME following cataract surgery. In addition, the number of VHDs had an impact on the extent of macular thickening and subsequently postoperative BCVA. No correlation was found between the number of VHDs and the frequency of required peribulbar or intravitreal steroid injections.

Purpose To assess the prevalence and causes of visual impairment and blindness in a Central European country. The findings may have implications for the planning of further research and development of therapies in order to prevent blindness. Setting Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Graz, Austria. Design Retrospective, epidemiological study. Methods The database of the Main Confederation of Austrian Social Insurances was searched for patients with visual impairment, legal blindness or deaf-blindness. This database gathers data from patients of all insurance providers in the country who receive care due to visual impairment and blindness. To determine the prevalence of these conditions, the number of all entries recorded in February 2019 was evaluated. Additionally, all new entries between (January 1st,) 2017, and (December 31st,) 2018, were analysed for distinct characteristics, such as sex, the cause of blindness/visual impairment, and age. Since health care allowances can provide a considerable source of income (459.90€-936.90€ per month), good coverage of practically all patients who are blind and visually impaired in the country can be assumed. Results On February 2nd, 2019, 17,730 patients with visual impairments, blindness or deaf-blindness were registered in Austria, resulting in a prevalence of these diagnoses of 0.2% in the country. During the observational period from 2017 to 2018, 4040 persons met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 2877 were female (65.3%), and 1527 were male (34.7%). The mean age was 75.7 ± 18.0 years (median 82). Most patients (n = 3675, 83.4%) were of retirement age, while 729 (16.6%) were working-age adults or minors. In total, an incidence of 25.0 (95% confidence limit (CL) 24.3–25.8) per 100,000 person-years was observed from 2017 to 2018. A higher incidence was observed for females (32.2, 95% CL 31.0–33.3) than for males (17.7, 95% CL 16.8–18.5). Incidences where higher for males in lower age groups (e.g. 10–14 years: rate ratio RR = 2.7, 95% CL 1.1–6.8), and higher for females in higher age groups (e.g. 70–74 years: RR = 0.6, 95% CL 0.5–0.8). In total, the most frequent diagnoses were macular degeneration (1075 persons, 24.4%), other retinal disorders (493 persons, 11.2%) and inherited retinal and choroidal diseases (IRDs) (186 persons, 4.2%). Persons with IRDs were significantly younger compared to persons with macular degeneration or retinal disorders (IRDs: median 57, range 2–96 vs 83, 5–98 and 82, 1–98 years, p<0.001). For persons of retirement age, macular degeneration, other retinal disorders and glaucoma were the three most frequent diagnoses. In contrast, among working-aged adults and children, IRDs were the leading cause of visual impairment and blindness (103 persons, 14.1%). Conclusion These data show that IRDs are the leading cause of blindness and visual impairment in working-aged persons and children in Austria. Thus, these findings suggest to draw attention to enhance further research in the fields of emerging therapies for IRDs.

Implantation of a monofocal spherical IOL resulted in an increased depth of focus without significant degradation of distance visual acuity or contrast sensitivity. There were no differences in the depth of focus between hyperopic eyes and emmetropic eyes.