Solange Rios Salomão

Background To provide population-level estimates of OCT-detected macular pathology in adults living in the Brazilian Amazon region. Methods Population-based, cross-sectional study. Eligible participants were residents aged ≥ 45 years identified through cluster sampling (20 clusters: 14 urban and 6 rural) in Parintins City, Amazonas, Brazil. Ophthalmic examinations included visual acuity testing, biomicroscopy, fundoscopy, and subjective refraction. A subset underwent spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT; iVue-100, Optovue) using macular mapping protocols. OCT images were graded for predefined abnormalities involving the vitreoretinal interface, inner retina, outer retina/retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)/choroid, and ganglion cell complex (GCC). Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to evaluate factors associated with any OCT abnormality. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results Of 2,384 eligible individuals, 2,041 (85.7%) were examined and 588 (28.8%) underwent OCT (1,176 eyes), of which 1,069 eyes (90.9%) were gradable. OCT macular abnormalities were detected in at least one eye in 180 participants (30.6%). Overall, outer retinal layer changes were most frequent, followed by GCC thinning and epiretinal membrane. OCT abnormalities were independently associated with older age and lower educational level. Structural abnormalities were identified in 340 (31.8%) eyes; of these, 208 (19.5%) showed changes also detectable on dilated fundus examination, whereas 132 (12.3%) had a clinically normal funduscopic appearance. Clinically notable lesions were detected in 46 (4.3%) eyes, including signs of late AMD in 27 (2.5%) eyes, diabetic maculopathy in 6 (0.6%), lamellar macular hole in 6 (0.6%), full-thickness macular hole in 3 (0.3%), and central serous chorioretinopathy in 4 (0.4%) eyes. Among 774 eyes clinically normal at fundoscopy, OCT revealed subclinical disease in 127 (16.4%). Conclusions In this underserved Amazonian population, approximately one-third of gradable eyes showed OCT-detected macular abnormalities, many of them subclinical on fundoscopy. Diabetic maculopathy, choroidal neovascular membranes, and late AMD showed very low prevalence and limited epidemiologic weight in this setting. Incorporating OCT into population-based surveys enhances detection and refines burden estimates of subclinical retinal disease and vision-threatening conditions in aging populations.

This pilot study evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of a deep learning model for detecting pterygium in anterior segment photographs taken using smartphones in the Brazilian Amazon. The model's performance was benchmarked against assessments made by experienced ophthalmologists, considered the clinical gold standard. In this cross-sectional study, 38 participants (76 eyes) from Barcelos, Brazil, were enrolled. Trained nonmedical health workers captured high-resolution anterior segment images using smartphones. These images were analyzed using a deep learning model based on the MobileNet-V2 convolutional neural network. Diagnostic metrics-including sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve-were calculated and compared with the ophthalmologists' evaluations. The deep learning model achieved a sensitivity of 91.43%, specificity of 90.24%, positive predictive value of 88.46%, negative predictive value of 92.79%, and an area under the curve of 0.91. Logistic regression revealed no statistically significant association between pterygium and demographic variables such as age or gender. The deep learning model demonstrated high diagnostic performance in identifying pterygium in a remote Amazonian population. These preliminary findings support the potential use of artificial intelligence-based tools to facilitate early detection and screening in underserved regions, thereby enhancing access to ophthalmic care.

This study evaluated macular thickness using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography in healthy participants from a population-based eye survey. The Brazilian Amazon Region Eye Survey was a population-based study assessing the prevalence and causes of visual impairment, blindness, and ocular diseases in adults aged ≥45 years from urban and rural areas of Parintins. A subgroup was selected based on inclusion criteria for both eyes: best-corrected visual acuity ≥20/32, normal eye examination results, and no prior ocular surgery. Scans were performed using the iVue optical coherence tomography device. Measurements were taken from the nine subfields defined by the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study, examining the full retina as well as the inner and outer retinal layers. Associations of retinal thickness with age and sex were also analyzed. Statistical significance was set at p≤0.05. In total, 70 healthy participants (25 males), aged 45-65 years (mean=52 ± 5), were included. Mean central foveal thickness was 248.71 ± 18.73 μm. A significant age-related reduction in macular thickness was observed, particularly in the inner superior parafovea (p=0.036), nasal perifovea (p=0.001), superior perifovea (p=0.028), outer layer of inferior parafovea (p=0.049), and the inferior perifovea of the full retina (p=0.029). Males showed significantly greater thickness in the outer layer, especially in the outer parafovea (p=0.004) and perifovea (p<0.0001). This study established normative macular thickness values for healthy older adults in the Brazilian Amazon region using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. Age and sex were found to significantly influence macular thickness and should be considered when interpreting measurements. These data will support future studies of retinal diseases in this population.

To investigate disparities in the prevalence and causes of visual impairment and blindness, cataract surgical coverage, and ocular findings in older adults from two Brazilian geo-socio-demographic ...

Cataract is a highly prevalent, treatable, and sight threatening condition considered one of the main focuses of public health policies addressing visual impairment and blindness towards Universal Eye Health. We aimed to investigate the trends on number of cataract surgical procedures performed through the Brazilian national health system (SUS) from 2000 to 2019 while also evaluating costs associated with it. The Brazilian Public Health System Information Database (DATASUS) was used as the primary data source for procedures including extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE) and phacoemulsification. Trends along the years were evaluated through generalized linear models. A total of 8,424,521 cataract procedures were performed from 2000 to 2019, with a significant increase along the years from 228,145 in 2000 to 663,186 in 2019 (p<0.001), a cataract surgical procedure rate change from 13.15 to 32.28 procedures per 10,000 people. It was observed a significant increase on the number of phacoemulsification (p<0.001) and a significant decrease on the number of ECCE (p<0.001). A shift on the predominant technique has occurred between 2007 and 2008 with phacoemulsification increasing its percentual representativity from 34.3% to 69.7% of all procedures, reaching 96.1% in 2019. Phacoemulsification costs per procedure increased 30.5% from from USD$119.00 to USD$155.33 (p = 0.007) and the ECCE costs per procedure increased 29.1% from USD$78.57 to USD$101.43 (p = 0.001). There is an increasing trend of procedures related to cataract treatment performed through SUS along the 20-years period and a switch on the technique predominance from ECCE to phacoemulsification was observed after 2007. The costs associated with both techniques have increased but have not followed the country’s overall inflation. Data derived from DATASUS is important to understand the overall panorama of ocular health offered by the national health system and to provide information to guide healthcare leaders on management and planning of public health policies within the system.

Purpose To investigate the diagnostic contribution of grating visual acuity (GVA) measured by sweep pattern-reversal visually evoked potentials (SPRVEP) in unexplained visual loss (UVL). Methods This case-control study included adult patients under suspicion of UVL referred to SPRVEP and transient pattern-reversal visually evoked potentials (TPRVEP) testing. Optotype visual acuity (OVA) was measured by ETDRS 4-meter chart and GVA by SPRVEP. UVL patients were assigned into three distinctive categories, according to the presence of ocular disease, motivation, and electrophysiological evaluation, as follows: exaggerators, malingerers, and psychogenic. Healthy controls and patients with organic visual loss were also tested. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of GVA and TPRVEP parameters. Results A total of 76 patients with UVL were analyzed: 60 (79.0%) exaggerators, 11 (14.4%) malingerers, and 5 (6.6%) psychogenic. Controls were 49 subjects evaluated for TPRVEP and 28 subjects for SPRVEP. There were 13 patients with organic visual loss enrolled. Mean difference between OVA and GVA was 1.19±0.67 (median=0.84; 95% CI: 1.04 to 1.34) in UVL and 0.14 ±0.09 (median= 0.14; 95% CI: 0.08 to 0.20) in organic visual loss. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of GVA to distinguish UVL from healthy controls was 0.998 with a cutoff of 0.09 logMAR showing specificity of 100% and sensitivity of 96.0%. Conclusions GVA measured by SPRVEP had good diagnostic validity to discriminate patients with unexplained visual loss from healthy controls and patients with organic visual loss, demonstrating its contribution to the diagnosis of this condition.

Recently, it has been recommended that population-based studies report not only frequencies of vision impairment and blindness but also any ocular abnormalities that might lead an individual to seek for eyecare services. The current study aimed to determine prevalence of ocular findings regardless of visual acuity (VA) status in older adults from the Brazilian Amazon Region. Disturbances were grouped into: Eyelids; Anterior Segment; Posterior Segment; Increased intraocular pressure; and Overall Globe. The presence of an ocular finding was considered positive when any abnormality was noted, regardless of VA. Refractive errors were not considered. A total 2384 eligible persons were enumerated and 2041 (85.6%) examined. The prevalence of ocular disturbances in either eye was 87.0% and was associated with male gender, older age, lower education, and rural residence. Overall, main findings were pterygium, cataract, and pinguecula, occurring in 58.8%, 45.4% and 17.4%, respectively. Among individuals with 20/20 VA in both eyes, the most frequent findings were pterygium, pinguecula, and glaucoma cupping, occurring in 47.4%, 31.2% and 6.5%, respectively. The high prevalence of ocular findings observed in this population reinforces that different conditions might not immediately decrease VA but can indicate risk and/or discomfort symptoms and should be considered when planning public health ophthalmic services.

Purpose: To determine the prevalence and causes of visual impairment and blindness in adults aged 45 years and older from Parintins, Brazilian Amazon Region. Methods: A random cluster sampling method was used to identify subjects 45 years of age and older from urban and rural census sectors of Parintins city, Amazonas State, from March 2014 to May 2015. Participants underwent a detailed ocular examination, including presenting (PVA) and best corrected visual acuity (BCVA). The main cause of PVAResults: A total of 2384 subjects were enumerated and 2041 (85.6%) examined. The prevalence of presenting mild visual impairment – MiVI (Conclusions: Most cases of visual impairment in Parintins are either preventable or treatable, and public health initiatives should target cataract surgical services and refraction with spectacle provision.