Eye Care News

SAN DIEGO — Low contrast visual acuity is severely affected in pediatric patients with optic neuritis, and even though it generally improves, it does not achieve normal levels, according to a study.

SAN DIEGO — Very little content in electronic health record notes is manually entered, the notes are long and redundant, and most are not even looked at, Michael F. Chiang, MD, said at the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus annual meeting.

SAN DIEGO — Immediate sequential bilateral cataract surgery in children can save time and resources without postoperative ophthalmological or anesthesia-related complications, according to a speaker.

SAN DIEGO — Piggyback IOL implantation is an aggressive technique in children but is an option in certain cases, according to a speaker.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force gave an ‘A’ level recommendation to prophylactic ocular topical medication to prevent gonococcal ophthalmia neonatorum regardless of a woman’s gestational age, according to a report recently published in JAMA.

In this guest editorial, David Brottman, MD, FAAP, a recently retired pediatrician in Arlington, Illinois, discusses device-based vision screening strategies for children, and how new technology can improve outcomes in the primary care setting.

SAN FRANCISCO — In 1993, the CDC recommended routinely screening all pregnant women for Chlamydia trachomatis, or CT, which has significantly reduced the number of neonatal chlamydial conjunctivitis cases in the United States, according to research presented at IDWeek 2018.

Recent findings suggest that approximately one-quarter of infants with suspected or confirmed Zika virus exposure during the 2015-2016 Rio de Janeiro outbreak developed eye abnormalities. Researchers said that regardless of laboratory confirmation, all infants born during Zika outbreaks “should be universally screened for eye abnormalities.”

The rate of trachoma, or ocular chlamydia, among children living in hyperendemic areas can be stalled with annual or biannual mass azithromycin distribution. However, discontinuing the antibiotic after 4 years led to an increased rate of infection in the pediatric population, according to trial results published in PLoS Medicine.

Treatment with erythromycin at 50 mg/kg per day for 14 days demonstrated better cure rates compared with azithromycin in neonates with chlamydial conjunctivitis, but more data are needed to compare these treatments, according to findings published in the Journal of the Pediatric Diseases Society.