Tag: L V Prasad Eye Institute

Health

WHITE FUNGUS: Have the knowledge, not the fear

May 23, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #Dr. Vivek Pravin Dave, #L V Prasad Eye Institute, #Retina Specialist

If diagnosed and treated in time, it is unlikely to cause any risk to life or vision

“Based on our experience, the cases of white fungus are currently rare, and hence we don’t need to panic. But we need to be watchful of the symptoms and take timely treatment. If diagnosed and treated in time, it is unlikely to cause any risk to one’s life or vision,” says Dr. Vivek Pravin Dave, Retina Specialist, L V Prasad Eye Institute.

In a nutshell

  • It affects the retina in the eye and can lead to vision loss
  • Symptoms include seeing a black shadow or floaters in front of the eye with variable degrees of vision loss
  • The eye can be mildly red with minimal pain
  • It can occur either concurrent to the COVID-19 infection or in the early post-recovery phase
  • Patients with co-morbidities, poorly controlled diabetes, and on long-term steroids and indwelling IV (intravenous) are more at risk
  • Treatment for the eye involves intraocular surgery and intraocular injections
  • Unlike Mucormycosis (Black Fungus), the effect of the white fungus is largely known to be restricted within the eyeball and does not need any facial and sinus surgery

What is White Fungus?

The scientific term for it is Candida albicans. It is a kind of yeast that naturally lives in and on our body, but an overgrowth can lead to health problems. The yeast appears white when cultured in a laboratory, and hence this fungal infection is called ‘White Fungus’. It can affect various parts of the eyeball. It can also affect any part of the body.

How is it different from Mucormycosis (Black Fungus)?

Mucormycosis predominantly affects tissues around the eyes, especially nasal sinuses, while the white fungus affects mainly tissues inside the eye, especially the vitreous gel and the retina.

Is White Fungus as life and vision-threatening as Mucormycosis?

If untreated, it can lead to significant vision loss. It is life-threatening only if the infection spreads to the whole body. That also happens only in patients who are severely debilitated and immunocompromised. There isn’t adequate data to compare white fungus versus black fungus in COVID recovery patients, as cases due to the white fungus are currently very rare.

What are the symptoms?

  • Decrease in vision within 1-3 months of COVID recovery
  • Vision loss is often central vision loss
  • Seeing a black shadow or lots of black floating particles/floaters in front of the eye

Why is it caused?

The current COVID management protocols require judicious but high-dose steroid usage in those patients whose lungs have got affected. While it helps bring down the COVID-related damage, the counter-effect is that it suppresses the body’s immune mechanisms, making it more vulnerable to these kinds of fungal infections.

Who are at risk of developing White Fungus?

Patients who have low immunity or high blood sugar levels are more at risk. In the context of COVID-19 infection, it can occur either concurrent to the COVID-19 infection or in the early post-recovery phase (within 6-8 weeks after developing the first fever) as the immune system is low on that timeline. Patients with co-morbidities like diabetes, systemic immunosuppression (low immunity), or any other major systemic disease (chronic disorder) are more likely to have this infection. It is also being observed in patients who have been treated with steroids for COVID-19 infection as steroids suppress the immune system and also raise blood sugar levels.

What is the treatment?

The treatment comprises intraocular surgery, antifungal injections within the eye, and oral antifungal agents. Often the surgical procedures need to be repeated, and the entire treatment can extend to over 4-6 weeks. Controlling blood sugar and improving the immunity status of the patient is very important.

Business World

The LVPEI Eye Bank Network Distributed 40% of Corneas in India

Mar 9, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #L V Prasad Eye Institute

Hyderabad, 9th March 2021: L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) is recognized as the Global Centre of Excellence in Eye Banking – the biggest in Asia and developing countries. 40% of the corneas distributed throughout India for sight-restoring corneal transplant surgeries last year were provided by LVPEI Network Eye Banks. Since its inception in 1989, the LVPEI eye bank network has achieved many milestones. It has distributed 61,063 corneas, of which 50,000 (82%), are by the Ramayamma International Eye Bank (RIEB) at LVPEI’s Hyderabad Campus. The Institute also has Eye Bank facilities at its campuses in Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada.

“Our goal is to ensure that the availability of quality corneal tissue does not remain a barrier in tackling corneal blindness. 1.1 million Indians suffer from corneal blindness. Corneal transplantation, using healthy corneas donated by individuals upon their death, is the only known cure for corneal blindness. LVPEI is contributing phenomenally towards ensuring the availability of quality donor tissues. We have now expanded the scope of our activities beyond our network and have partnered withThe Hans Foundation for setting up Eye Banks in other states of India – where they are needed the most. Two of these eye banks have been set-up in Rishikesh and Guwahati. Within two years, the Eye Bank at Rishikesh was able to supply 194 corneas for transplantation,” shared Dr Prashant Garg, Head, Eye Banking Services, L V Prasad Eye Institute.

Dr Prashant Garg is also the Technical Advisor to the Global Action Framework for Transplantation group of the World Health Organization (WHO) that focuses on setting up norms, standards and policies for organ and tissue transplantations. In collaboration with other organizations, LVPEI is playing a significant role in drafting the best practices and protocols for Eye Banking in India during the current pandemic times.

RIEB established a first-of-its-kind, state-of-the-art-technology, Modular Clean Room facility (ISO Class 5) in 2016 to process corneal tissuesfor advanced corneal surgeries such as pre-cut for partial thickness (lamellar) surgeries. This minimizes the time and effort of the surgeon, reduces the cost and makes the surgery less invasive with quick healing and faster visual recovery. So far, RIEB has provided 6600 pre-cut corneas to surgeons within and outside the LVPEI network. Similar facilities are also available at LVPEI’s other tertiary campuses.

LVPEIhas been consistently performing over 2000+ corneal transplant surgeries every year for the past several years. So far, over 38,655 corneal transplant surgeries (across the network) have been performed at the institute, which possibly is the highest at a single institute anywhere in the world. The cornea collection numbers stand at – 107,751 (up untilDecember 2020; corneas found unsuitable for surgeries are used for research and for training ophthalmology fellows/residents).

“We express our sincere thanks to our cornea donor families, partner hospitals and eye donation centres, our collaborators and funders who have helped us in establishing such a robust eye banking facility. The recent prestigious ‘The Greenberg Prize – End Blindness 2020’ that LVPEI has received highlights our global contribution towards eliminating blindness. In the forthcoming future, we will continue our efforts towards establishing eye banks in other states, contribute to research in specific cell-based therapy for corneal problems, and promote best practices in the eye banking sector,” concludes Dr Garg.

About L V Prasad Eye Institute: The L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) was established in 1987 at Hyderabad as a not-for-profit, non-government, public-spirited, comprehensive eye care institution. LVPEI is governed by two trusts: the Hyderabad Eye Institute and the Hyderabad Eye Research Foundation. The Institute is a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Prevention of Blindness and a Global Resource Centre for VISION 2020: The Right to Sight initiative. LVPEI has ten active arms to its areas of operations: Clinical Services, Education, Research, Vision Rehabilitation, Rural and Community Eye Health, Eye Banking, Advocacy and Policy Planning, Capacity Building, Innovation and Product Development.

The LVPEI pyramidal model of eye care delivery currently includes a Centre of Excellence in Hyderabad, 3 tertiary centres in Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada, 20 secondary, 4 urban city and 200 primary care vision centres that cover the remotest rural areas in the four states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Karnataka.

News

LVPEI to receive unique global award: ‘The Greenberg Prize – End Blindness 2020’

Dec 9, 2020 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Dr Greenberg, #Dr Gullapalli N Rao, #Founder-Chair, #Johns Hopkins University, #L V Prasad Eye Institute, #LVPEI, #Sanford and Susan Greenberg End Blindness Foundation, #Wilmer Eye Institute

 

 Hyderabad: L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) is one of the few recipients of the very prestigious ‘The Greenberg Prize – End Blindness 2020’. The winners were chosen based on the strength of their contributions to eliminate blindness. Dr Gullapalli N Rao, Founder-Chair, L V Prasad Eye Institute is being presented with this award in the ‘Outstanding Achievement Prize’ category.

‘End Blindness’ was a movement to eradicate blindness created by Dr Sanford Greenberg, who had himself lost his eyes at 19 years of his age, and his wife Susan. When Dr Greenberg was the chairman of the board governors of the Johns Hopkins University’s Wilmer Eye Institute, in 2012, this award was announced to recognise the work of the scientific and medical communities who pioneered in the fight to end blindness, between then and 2020.

“I feel humbled and honoured to accept this prestigious award on behalf of over the 3000 strong family of L V Prasad Eye Institute and its numerous supporters all over the globe. Eliminating avoidable blindness by the year 2020 has been an aspiration of the global eye care community for over two decades. I want to place on record our gratitude to Sanford and Susan Greenberg End Blindness Foundation for recognizing our contribution to this global effort. My heartiest congratulations to all the other winners,” said a thrilled Dr Gullapalli N Rao, Founder-Chair, L V Prasad Eye Institute.

Recipients of The Greenberg Prize include members of the scientific and medical communities who have pioneered breath-taking advances in the fight to end the debilitating condition. Prize recipients are being honored in two categories: the Outstanding Achievement Prize, highlighting profound strides toward preventing and curing blindness, and The Visionary Prize, providing funding for scientists whose research exhibits significant potential in ending this ancient scourge.

Awarding $3 million in prize money, The Greenberg Prize is the highwater mark of a historic joint effort by leading scientists and figures from the worlds of business, politics, culture, art, music and entertainment. LVPEI shares the award with one more organization in India.

Details to watch the award ceremony: The hour-long award ceremony will be streamed live and will be freely accessible and open to all at www.EndBlindness2020.com. It will be streamed online at 19:00 EST on Monday, 14 December 2020; Indian Time: 05:30 IST on Tuesday, 15 December 2020.

Health

Watch out for eye-related complications post COVID recovery

Oct 6, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #Dr Raja Narayanan, #Dr Sunita Chaurasia, #L V Prasad Eye Institute, #Retinopathy

COVID patients are increasingly being detected with retinal complications leading to a blurring of vision. COVID may cause obstruction of blood supply to the retina. One of these is an eye complication called ‘Retinopathy’. Retinopathy is a kind of a retinal vascular disease where the retina of the eye gets damaged because of abnormal blood flow, resulting in vision impairment. Also, critically ill COVID-19 patients who are being given steroids to mitigate lung and other complications can be at the risk of developing steroid-related ocular complications.

Dr Raja Narayanan“Retinopathy due to COVID or steroids treatment usually occurs within 2-4 weeks after the COVID has resolved. So patients who have recovered from COVID and had been treated with steroids should watch out for such symptoms for the initial weeks or till the time they are on steroids for lung complications. The most common symptom is blurring of vision (not necessarily accompanied by redness or pain). We are seeing patients with retinopathy, either due to block of the retinal blood vessel or swelling of the retina. But the good news is that, so far based on the cases reported to us, the risk to develop this condition is less than 0.1%,” says Dr Raja Narayanan, Senior Retina Consultant – L V Prasad Eye Institute.

“It is not mandatory for all COVID recovered patients to undergo a detailed eye examination, but those who experience blurring of eyesight or any other similar symptoms even after COVID has resolved should get their eyes examined without delay. If in case they are not able to physically visit an eye hospital, they can even get a teleconsultation done,” continues Dr Narayanan.

“The steroids that are administered to treat elderly COVID patients can lead to a relative immune-deficient stage and hence there is also a risk of developing certain viral conditions such as herpes zoster ophthalmicus. This is a condition that presents with skin eruptions and excoriations involving the eyelid and the surrounding area, along with secondary conjunctivitis-like symptoms such as redness and discharge. The condition can be associated with pain/ tingling sensation in and around the eyes,” adds Dr Sunita Chaurasia, Senior Cornea Consultant – L V Prasad Eye Institute.

“Maintaining good eye health practices, being vigilant, and consulting the doctors immediately if you experience any complications with your vision, is very important. Early diagnosis and treatment can help safeguard the vision of the patient,” advises Dr Chaurasia.

Health

Don’t ignore your eye health during the COVID time

Sep 15, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #Dr Somasheila Murthy, #eye health, #L V Prasad Eye Institute

Dr Somasheila Murthy: Head, Cornea and Anterior Segment Service, L V Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad.

The COVID 19 pandemic is here to stay for a while. As the number of cases (of COVID 19) increase in the population, it is of utmost importance to maintain social distance and not travel unnecessarily. By staying at home, we can manage a lot of work like working online, studying for school, ordering groceries and supplies, etc. But what about our health? Especially the health of our eyes? What if we have decreased vision or redness or pain? How will we know whether it is an emergency or it can wait? Should we postpone the visit to the eye doctor?

As a patient, you would be naturally apprehensive about your eyes as vision is one of the most essential sense that is required to function. It is also well known that certain diseases, if not taken care of in the initial stages, can lead to permanent visual loss. In these times, teleconsultation/telephone and video consultation are proving to be very useful to have an initial assessment of the condition of the patient and decide on whether the patient needs a hospital visit or not.

The conditions for which one can seek a teleconsultation and avoid a physical visit include:

– Complaints of dryness, eye fatigue, discomfort: this is often due to the necessary use of computers as many people are now working online and prolonged use of digital media either for work or entertainment can cause this
– Complaints of redness, eye swelling, mild to moderate pain, watering, itching, lid nodules: many of these conditions can be managed medically and a good teleconsultation including a video consultation would be the first step

When should you visit the hospital and on an emergency basis? DO NOT WAIT IF YOU HAVE:

– Sudden loss of vision
– Complaints of severe pain, associated with redness, light sensitivity: in such a case the patient should prepare for a hospital visit as these symptoms could be due to a more severe eye disease
– Any significant injury such as household chemicals falling accidentally into the eye, injury to the eye with a blunt or sharp object while working/playing etc.
–
When should you visit the hospital, not as an emergency but where routine follow-ups cannot be ignored:

– Diabetic patient with or without deterioration of vision
– Patients with a history of glaucoma or other eye diseases such as corneal transplants
– Other chronic conditions for which the patient is on medications as advised by the ophthalmologist (uveitis, etc.)
–
How safe is it to visit the hospital during the pandemic:

Followings steps are being taken to ensure the utmost safety for patients:

– A triage system at the entry point itself, where patients who have symptoms suggestive of COVID infection are being seen in an isolation room
– The patient numbers are maintained at a uniform inflow and outflow so as to ensure that there is no overcrowding in lounges or clinics
– A social distance of one meter is maintained between patients even while being seated
– The hospital personnel use personal protection equipment to ensure the patients are not exposed to them and vice versa
– Equipment used for examining the patients are sterilized after each examination
– Follow-up through teleconsultation is being encouraged to minimize the number of visits that patients have to make to the hospital