Eyeworld

MAY 2013

EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.

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May 2013 EW NEWS & OPINION 3 Final session of ASCRS meeting addresses best papers I n the final session of the ASCRS•ASOA Symposium & Congress in San Francisco, EyeWorld editorial board members joined together for "Hot off the Press," where presenters discussed some of the best papers of the meeting and panelists weighed in on the topics and technologies addressed in the papers. David F. Chang, MD, Los Altos, Calif., moderated the session, with Reay H. Brown, MD, Atlanta, Bonnie An Henderson, MD, Boston, Eric D. Donnenfeld, MD, Long Island, N.Y., Ronald Yeoh, MD, Singapore, and Elizabeth M. Hofmeister, MD, San Diego, serving as panelists. Presenting the papers during the session were Mitchell P. Weikert, MD, Houston, Clara C. Chan, MD, Toronto, John P. Berdahl, MD, Sioux Falls, S.D., Nathan M. Radcliffe, MD, New York, Saraswathy Ramanathan, MD, Baltimore, and Boris E. Malyugin, MD, Moscow. Dr. Chan discussed a paper that detailed a trial for a new dry eye drug, lifitegrast (SARcode Bioscience, Brisbane, Calif.). The drug is meant for those dry eye patients who were previously using artificial tears. Results comparing a placebo group and a group with the new drug showed a significant mean change at day 84 for the lifitegrast group. Dr. Chan said the new drug showed a significant difference in ocular discomfort associated with dry eye, and the conclusion was that lifitegrast is a "novel topical treatment" currently under development. "There was a significant and rapid response in both signs and symptoms of dry eye," she said. Dr. Donnenfeld said lifitegrast works more rapidly, and the improvement in the patients receiving the drug was significant. "It works in two weeks rather than three months," he said. In his presentation, Dr. Berdahl touched on a paper about a new point spread function technology that will help change the way visual acuity is measured and potentially make it easier. He said the paper's authors found that the device provided a better measurement for visual acuity and visual quality for patients in a faster, more patientconvenient way. by Ellen Stodola EyeWorld Staff Writer and Erin Boyle EyeWorld Senior Staff Writer Boris E. Malyugin, MD, David F. Chang, MD, Reay H. Brown, MD, Ronald Yeoh, MD, Bonnie An Henderson, MD, Elizabeth M. Hofmeister, MD, and Eric D. Donnenfeld, MD, served as panelists for the "Hot Off the Press" session. Source: EyeWorld This technology was one that the panelists were particularly excited about. "I think this is a great, useful tool," Dr. Donnenfeld said. He said the take-home message with this new device should be that the Snellen test, the go-to test for visual acuity, does not determine happiness. Despite the possibility of obtaining good results with the Snellen test, patients could still be unhappy. Dr. Henderson said she thinks most people have been struggling with the Snellen acuity test, and this new test would help to show that subjective complaints of the patient measure up with objective symptoms. "I think it could even be a substitute for Snellen acuity," she said. Dr. Ramanathan presented a paper by Daniel H. Chang, MD, Bakersfield, Calif., that examined how quality of vision with a diffractive multifocal IOL is affected by real-world lightening conditions. The study looked at 16 patients who had undergone cataract surgery in both eyes and were implanted with a multifocal IOL. The study author measured patients' best corrected and uncorrected visual acuity at distance, near, and intermediate and under mesopic and photopic conditions. Results were compared to patient satisfaction survey responses. "At distance, [Dr. Chang] told us things that we already expected, that everybody sees well when the lights are on, with their glasses or without their glasses. At intermediate, we know that with glasses or without glasses, if the lights are on, people see well. But then when the lights are off, whether the glasses are on or off, people don't see as well," Dr. Ramanathan said. "The same is true at near." Patients felt they were functioning well in the survey, with 100% "very satisfied" or "satisfied" with their vision. A total of 95% "never" or "hardly ever" wear glasses. The conclusion of the study was that good lightening is essential to optimize vision, with patient perception and visual functioning satisfactory, Dr. Ramanathan said. Dr. Henderson said the most positive finding was the excellent patient satisfaction. "I know that there's a lot of fear of unhappy patients with a multifocal lens, and in the country, the use of multifocal lenses is still around 8%, so that's a very encouraging study," she said. Dr. Yeoh said the excellent patient satisfaction could be related to good counseling preoperatively about low lightening issues. "I have been using multifocal diffractive [lenses] for nine years now, and the one thing I have never stopped telling the patients is that you need a good light to read and work by," he said. EW Editors' note: The physicians have no financial interests related to this article. Look for more best papers chosen by EyeWorld editors in next month's issue.

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