Week in Review: Glaucoma and COVID-19 Infection, Poor Vision and Fracture Risk, Training Aid for Glaucoma Surgery

A weekly roundup of ophthalmic news from around the web.

An outbreak of acute primary angle-closure is seen among patients with COVID-19 infection. A single eye center in Shanghai, China, reported 261 eyes with acute primary angle-closure during the Omicron variant phase of the COVID-19 pandemic (December 2022–January 2023). In comparison, 82 eyes with APAC were seen during the previous year’s season (November 2021–February 2022), when Shanghai was experiencing a low rate of COVID-19 infections. Seventy-three percent of patients in the Omicron variant−phase group were positive for the COVID-19 virus, while no patients seen one year earlier tested positive. In the COVID-19–infected group, 92% experienced APAC attacks within 3 days of COVID-19 symptom occurrence. The authors conclude that “there may be a correlation between the onset of APAC and new COVID-19 Omicron variant infection, but the exact reason needs to be investigated further.” Clinical Ophthalmology

In older adults, poor vision increases the already high risk of falls and fractures. A UK-based retrospective cohort study found that among older adults (mean age 74.3 years), those with cataract, glaucoma, or AMD had more falls and fractures than a matched-age group without eye disease. Age-standardized incidence rates for falls and fractures ranged from 1802.0 to 2551.4 cases per 100,000 person-years in the eye disease group and from 621.3 to 848.1 cases per 100,000 person-years in the control group. Risks of forearm and lower leg fractures were especially high. JAMA Ophthalmology

A new surgical system guides the way for trainees to perform glaucoma surgeries. Ophthalmology residents and glaucoma fellows who used the self-guided OMNI Surgical System for their initial combined cataract surgery with canaloplasty and trabeculotomy achieved significant IOP reductions for their subsequent patients, according to a prospective study conducted at Veterans Hospital in Long Beach, California. Thirty-three patients were enrolled in the study. At 12 months after surgery, mean IOP had decreased from 17.2 mm Hg to 13.4 mm Hg (22.3%); the number of glaucoma medications needed declined by 28.0%. All patients’ vision improved from baseline, and adverse event rates were low. These outcomes are similar to those reported for more experienced glaucoma surgeons. Clinical Ophthalmology