Sympathetic ophthalmia: A comprehensive update

Incidence of Sympathetic Ophthalmia after Intraocular Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

TOPIC

Sympathetic ophthalmia (SO) is a rare bilateral granulomatous panuveitis that can present after trauma or intraocular surgery (IOS). The incidence of SO after IOS varies among studies. The purpose of this review was to determine the incidence proportion of SO after IOS.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

The incidence proportion of SO after IOS can provide physicians and patients with information on the risk of SO during the consent process before surgery.

METHODS

In this systematic review and meta-analysis, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases were searched from inception to January 1, 2023 for population-based studies of SO after IOS. Two reviewers independently screened the results. Random-effects meta-analyses calculated incidence proportion. Subgroup analysis assessed SO incidence based on IOS type and technological advancements. Study quality and bias were assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale and the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation framework.

RESULTS

The final meta-analyses included 19 studies, with 118 cases of SO occurring after 505 178 inciting events. The estimated overall incidence proportion of SO after IOS was 0.061% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.033%-0.111%; I2 = 83%), and the estimated incidence rate was 9.24 cases per 100 000 person-years (95% CI, 4.03-21.19; I2 = 88%). The average study duration across these studies was 10.8 years. Within the reviewed literature, SO after glaucoma and vitreoretinal IOS was studied most, with 9 and 6 studies, respectively. Observed differences in incidence between glaucoma (0.098%; 95% CI, 0.042%-0.232%; I2 = 40%) and vitreoretinal (0.043%; 95% CI, 0.022%-0.085%; I2 = 88%) IOS were not statistically significant (P = 0.14). Also, no significant difference was found in the incidence proportion before and after 1975, when modern intraocular surgical techniques emerged (0.060% vs. 0.058%; P = 0.98). The outcome measures showed low-certainty Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation evidence.

DISCUSSION

Sympathetic ophthalmia after IOS is rare and might not have changed over the past 5 decades. The estimated incidence proportion of SO may be useful during the consent process before surgery. Also, no significant difference may exist in the incidence of SO between glaucoma and vitreoretinal IOS, based on low-certainty evidence.

FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE(S)

The author(s) have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.

Hyper-Reflective Outer Nuclear Layer (HONL) in Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Disease and Sympathetic Ophthalmia

PURPOSE

To describe the optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings of hyper-reflective outer nuclear layer (HONL) in two cases of stromal choroiditis (Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease - VKH, and sympathetic ophthalmia - SO).

METHODS

Case report.

RESULTS

Clinical and imaging findings of two patients (37-year-old female with VKH and 34-year-old male with SO) have been described. Both patients showed typical features of the disease with subretinal fluid accumulation and choroidal thickening on OCT. However, OCT of both patients at the initial visit revealed HONL, which was unusual in these conditions. During follow-up, OCT scans revealed thinning and atrophy of the outer retinal layers, irregular thickening of the retinal pigment epithelium, and irregular autofluorescence pattern on autofluorescence imaging.

CONCLUSIONS

The presence of HONL may serve as a poor prognostic factor in VKH and SO, resulting in thinning and atrophy of the outer retinal layers.

Material risk: vitreoretinal surgery, evisceration, enucleation and sympathetic ophthalmia-where are we currently?

Sympathetic ophthalmia (SO) is known to occur after severe penetrating eye injury, evisceration and even enucleation surgery. Recent evidence suggests that a greater risk lies after multiple vitreoretinal procedures. The risk of SO following evisceration is only minimally greater than that following enucleation surgery. This review evaluates literature on SO to date and provides figures for the risk of developing SO for the purposes of the consent process. The issue of SO and Material Risk following vitreoretinal surgery is reviewed and figures for the purposes of consent are outlined. This is of particular relevance for patients in whom the contralateral eye is and will likely remain the better seeing eye. Sympathetic ophthalmitis is known to occur after severe penetrating eye injury, after evisceration and enucleation. More recently, sympathetic ophthalmitis has been recognised to occur after vitreoretinal surgery. This article reviews the evidence on material risk when consenting patients for elective and emergency eye procedures after ocular trauma or surgery. When a globe needs to be removed because of irreparable ocular injury, previous publications dictated the procedure to be an enucleation because of the fear of an increased risk of SO after an evisceration. Perhaps the issue of material risk of sympathetic ophthalmia (SO) remains over-emphasised by ophthalmic plastic surgeons and under-recognised by vitreoretinal surgeons during the consent process for evisceration, enucleation and vitreoretinal surgery. Antecedent trauma and number of previous surgeries may actually be a more significant risk factor than the type of eye removal. Recent medicolegal cases also help us understand the importance of the discussion of this risk. We present our current understanding of the risk of SO after different procedures and suggest how this information may be included in a patient consent.

Presumed sympathetic ophthalmia following scleral buckling surgery: A case report and review of the literature

PURPOSE

To report a case of presumed sympathetic ophthalmia (SO) following scleral buckling (SB) surgery and to discuss the possible pathogenesis of this condition by reviewing the current evidence on this subject.

METHODS

Case report and narrative review of the literature; our case was imaged with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), fundus autofluorescence (FAF), fluorescein angiography (FFA) and indocyanine green angiography (ICGA).

RESULTS

A 55-year-old man presented with a macula on rhegmatogenous retinal detachment which was treated with 360° SB surgery, subretinal fluid drain (SRFD), cryopexy and pneumoretinopexy. Due to failure of the primary surgery, a second procedure was performed the day after with the explant of the prior buckle and the implant of a wider circumferential element. At three months from surgery, the patient complained of severe bilateral vision loss. Multimodal imaging revealed bilateral, multi-focal exudative retinal detachments and choroidal swelling. A diagnosis of presumed SO was made and the patient was treated with a combination of steroid and immunosuppressive drugs. The clinical picture completely resolved at postoperative month 12.

CONCLUSION

SO may be a rare complication of SB surgery. In our case, early recognition and prompt immunosuppressive treatment achieved good long-term clinical results.

Acute and Chronic Manifestations of Sympathetic Ophthalmia on Multimodal Imaging

PURPOSE

To report the clinical and multimodal imaging features of sympathetic ophthalmia in the acute and chronic phases.

METHODS

Retrospective cohort study of consecutive patients with sympathetic ophthalmia seen at a tertiary referral center. Charts, imaging studies, and histopathological specimens were reviewed. The clinical features and multimodal imaging in the sympathizing eye were analyzed by sorting features into those seen in the acute and chronic phase.

RESULTS

Ten patients were included in the analysis and all of them had previous ocular trauma or complicated retinal detachment. In the acute phase, 70% had anterior uveitis, 70% had vitritis, and 100% had active posterior uveitis; posterior uveitis included multifocal choroiditis (80%), optic disc swelling (40%), multiple serous retinal detachments (20%), MEWDS-like findings (10%), and retinal vasculitis with chorioretinitis (10%). In the chronic phase, posterior manifestations included widespread patches of chorioretinal atrophy in the mid- and far-periphery (80%), peripapillary subretinal fibrosis (50%), and nummular perivascular atrophy (50%).

CONCLUSIONS

Sympathetic ophthalmia shows different posterior segment manifestations in the acute and chronic phase. Active sympathetic ophthalmia should be ruled out in eyes with a MEWDS-like presentation or rapidly progressing chorioretinitis, and history of trauma in the fellow eye. Peripapillary subretinal fibrosis and perivascular nummular atrophy may be useful features to suspect SO once acute inflammation has resolved.

A systematic review of ultrasound-mediated drug delivery to the eye and critical insights to facilitate a timely path to the clinic

Ultrasound has long been identified as a promising, non-invasive modality for improving ocular drug delivery across a range of indications. Yet, with 20 years of learnings behind us, clinical translation remains limited. To help address this, and in accordance with PRISMA guidelines, the various mechanisms of ultrasound-mediated ocular drug delivery have been appraised, ranging from first principles to emergent applications spanning both ex vivo and in vivo models. The heterogeneity of study methods precluded meta-analysis, however an extensive characterisation of the included studies allowed for semi-quantitative and qualitative assessments. Methods: In this review, we reflected on study quality of reporting, and risk of bias (RoB) using the latest Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments (ARRIVE 2.0) guidelines, alongside the Systematic Review Centre for Laboratory animal Experimentation (SYRCLE) RoB tools. Literature studies from 2002 to 2022 were initially characterised according to methods of ultrasound application, ultrasound parameters applied, animal models employed, as well as safety and efficacy assessments. This exercise contributed to developing a comprehensive understanding of the current state of play within ultrasound-mediated ocular drug delivery. The results were then synthesised and processed into a guide to aid future study design, with the goal of improving the reliability of data, and to support efficient and timely translation to the clinic. Results: Key attributes identified as hindering translation included: poor reporting quality and high RoB, skewed use of animals unrepresentative of the human eye, and the over reliance of reductionist safety assessments. Ex vivo modelling studies were often unable to have comprehensive safety assessments performed on them, which are imperative to determining treatment safety, and represent a pre-requisite for clinical translation. Conclusion: With the use of our synthesised guide, and a thorough understanding of the underlying physicochemical interactions between ultrasound and ocular biology provided herein, this review offers a firm foundation on which future studies should ideally be built, such that ultrasound-mediated ocular drug delivery can be translated from concept to the coalface where it can provide immense clinical benefit.

Stepwise approach for fundus imaging in the diagnosis and management of posterior uveitis

An array of retinochoroid imaging modalities aid in comprehensive evaluation of the immunopathological changes in the retina and choroid, forming the core component for the diagnosis and management of inflammatory disorders such as uveitis. The recent technological breakthroughs have led to the development of imaging platforms that can evaluate the layers of retina and choroid and the structural and functional alteration in these tissues. Ophthalmologists heavily rely on imaging modalities such as dye-based angiographies (fluorescein angiography and indocyanine green angiography), optical coherence tomography, fundus autofluorescence, as well as dye-less angiography such as optical coherence tomography angiograph,y for establishing a precise diagnosis and understanding the pathophysiology of the diseases. Furthermore, these tools are now being deployed with a 'multimodal' approach for swift and accurate diagnosis. In this comprehensive review, we outline the imaging platforms used for evaluation of posterior uveitis and discuss the organized, algorithmic approach for the assessment of the disorders. Additionally, we provide an insight into disease-specific characteristic pathological changes and the established strategies to rule out disorders with overlapping features on imaging.