Eyeworld

99 February 2016 EW MEETING REPORTER Ocular itch is the most common symptom of allergic conjunctivitis, Dr. Luchs said, and proper diagno- sis is determined predominately by patient history and a physical exam. Symptoms of ocular allergy are similar to other diseases, so you need to focus on patient history, he said. Common signs and symptoms include foreign body sensation; a dry, gritty ocular surface; itchy eyes; photosensitivity; hyperemia; chemo- sis; tearing; and lid swelling. Dr. Luchs said there are a number of options to treat allergies, including avoiding exposure to the allergens, getting rid of pets, wash- ing your hands, avoiding rubbing the eyes, and using HEPA filters. Compresses and artificial tears may also be beneficial, as can some therapeutic options, like the antihis- tamine/second generation mast cell stabilizers. In the future, Dr. Luchs said there may be new formulations of existing drugs or new indications for existing drugs that could help these patients. When treating a patient with ocular allergy, Dr. Luchs said it's important to take a careful history, consider other ocular surface diseas- es, consider in-office allergy testing, and consider co-management with an allergist. Editors' note: Dr. Luchs has financial interests with Alcon, Allergan, Bausch + Lomb, Shire, and TearLab (San Diego). Bringing premium IOLs to market Jack Holladay, MD, Houston, discussed the approval process for premium IOLs, which can often be quite long and complicated. He highlighted a task force, whose goal is to reduce the time and lower the cost to get through the FDA approv- al process. This task force includes Dr. Holladay, a number of other physicians, and representatives from the FDA. The task force is charged with defining adverse events for premium IOL safety assessments, recommending the best practices in testing methods for objective Giangiacomo said. When excluding alternatives to NTG, she said it's important to consider patient histo- ry, physical findings, and ancillary testing. "Taking a careful history is extremely important in dealing with all glaucoma patients, but especial- ly with normal-tension glaucoma patients." When doing a patient examina- tion, Dr. Giangiacomo said that a careful slit lamp exam with gonios- copy will help look for signs that could represent previous elevated IOP. It is essential to rule out ele- vated IOP, she said, and to do this, physicians may want to test IOP at different times of the day on differ- ent days and do a diurnal curve. Pachymetry is essential in man- aging these patients, and looking for disc hemorrhages is also important, she said. If anything is questionable when diagnosing NTG, do a full workup, Dr. Giangiacomo said; no one will give you a hard time for doing more of a workup than less. Editors' note: Dr. Giangiacomo has no related financial interests. Allergy Allergies are a common problem many patients may encounter. Jodi Luchs, MD, Wantagh, N.Y., discussed the topic and how to deal with it. It's important to focus on aller- gies to help improve the patient's quality of life, he said. Allergic diseases are the sixth leading cause of chronic disease in the U.S. Ocular allergies affect 25% of the general population, Dr. Luchs said. Additionally, 80 million people in the U.S. experience some ocular allergy, with 15–20 million poten- tially having chronic ocular allergy symptoms. Allergic conjunctivitis can be broken down into seasonal and perennial, he said. Seasonal aller- gies produce symptoms that peak in spring or fall, and usually the allergens are pollens, grass, or weeds. Meanwhile, the perennial allergies last throughout the year and are ex- acerbated by things like pet dander and dust mites. FREE 3 YEAR MEMBERSHIP FOR TRAINEES visit www.escrs.org today Become an ESCRS Member Free to Members: Reduced ESCRS Congress Fees ESCRS iLearn Online interactive courses ESCRS On Demand Online library of presentations from ESCRS Congresses Subscription to Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery EUREQUO Registry of Quality Outcomes continued on page 100

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