• Bausch + Lomb has announced the five-year results from its Antibiotic Resistance Monitoring in Ocular Microorganisms (ARMOR) surveillance study.The study pinpointed significant methicillin resistance among staphylococcal isolates from ocular infections, with many strains demonstrating multi-drug resistance. While overall resistance did not increase during the study period, the authors stress continued monitoring of ocular isolates is needed.

• The Brien Holden Vision Institute has released a set of grading scales that can be used as an in-office reference tool for determining the severity and progression of complications such as bulbar redness, limbal redness and corneal staining. It also includes descriptions and photographs of adverse effects associated with contact lens wear. You can download the scale for free at academy.brienholdenvision.org. 

• Hyperopic patients can now try the Dailies Total1 contact lens from Alcon, as the company has announced new plus power versions. The daily disposable lenses, manufactured with Alcon’s water gradient technology designed to mimic the environment of the cornea, are available with a power range of -0.50D to -6.00D in 0.25 steps and -6.50D to -10.00D in 0.50 steps. The latest release adds +0.50D to +6.00D in 0.25D steps.

• Bausch + Lomb acquired Doctor’s Allergy Formula, LLC.The company’s diagnostic system can be used to pinpoint the cause of a patient’s ocular surface disease from a panel of 60 potential allergens.  

Focus on HOAs May Increase Surgery Success
Managing quality of vision after lamellar keratoplasty was the subject of a recent literature review published in the November 2015 Cornea.¹ With respect to the studies evaluated, researchers found no significant difference in postoperative visual acuity between DALK and PKP; however, outcomes after DSAEK were significantly better than after PKP. The researchers also considered the concept of parallelism of anterior and posterior surfaces following surgery as a means to reduce higher-order aberrations (HOAs), which have been linked to poor visual acuity outcomes; ultimately, they suggest, “in clinical settings, increased attention to HOAs will avoid irregularity of the DSAEK grafts or uneven residual stromal tissues in DALK and amend the postoperative visual outcome.”

1. Yamaguchi T, Satake Y, Dogru M, et al. Visual function and higher-order aberrations in eyes after corneal transplantation: how to improve postoperative quality of vision. Cornea. 2015 Nov;43(11):S128-S135.