Objective: To investigate off-label ophthalmic medications, and provide an effective and safe evidence-based reference for the rational use of ophthalmic drugs. Methods: On the basis of collecting the off-label drug use recorded in 21 Aier Eye Hospital Group which including ophthalmic central cities and provincial capital level hospitals, and spot checking the prescription and doctor’s order drug use, this article conducted full demonstration and evaluation of off-label drug use which referred to the off-label drug used consensus of Guangdong and Shandong, and other literature on the off-label drug use in ophthalmology. The paper conducted statistics, analysis and induction, and solicited the opinions of relevant ophthalmology clinical experts. Results: Sorting out the evidence of the guides, consensus, journal papers and other evidence-based medicine in ophthalmic medication, recommending 8 items of level 1, 29 items of level 2, and 24 items of level 3, we compiled the “Reference catalogue for the off-label drug use in ophthalmic hospital (2021 edition)” within the group which can providing reference for clinical use. There were 61 off-label drugs commonly used in ophthalmology, involving 32 drugs. Among them, 32 items (52.5%) were used by over administration route, 13 items (21.3%) were used by over indication, and 14 items (23.0%) were used by over indication and administration route. Antibacterial drugs were the most frequently used in the varieties and items of off-label drug use, accounting for 13 (40.6%) and 26 (42.6%) respectively. Conclusion: Ophthalmic off-label medications are common owing to the special route of administration. Such as intraocular injection or eye drop have played a good role in the treatment of some ocular infectious diseases. Standardizing the off-label drug use of ophthalmology is an effective measure to reducing medical risks.

Objective: To investigate and analyze the refractive status of primary and secondary school students in Lanzhou City, and to understand the epidemiological characteristics of screening refractive errors among primary and secondary school students in Lanzhou City. Methods: Using the cross-sectional research method, primary and secondary school students from 47 schools in Lanzhou City, Gansu Province from April to December 2021 were selected as survey subjects by random stratified sampling method. Taking school as a unit, international standard visual acuity chart was used to check the eyesight and non-cycloplegia computerized autorefractor was used for refractive examination. Visual acuity ≥5.0 is considered normal; whereas visual acuity <4.8 is considered as poor vision. Poor vision is further divided into: short-sightedness with myopic spherical equivalent ≥0.75 DS; long-sightedness with telephoto spherical equivalent ≥+2.00 DS; astigmatism with cylinder mirror equivalent ≥1.00 DC; anisometropia with the difference of diopters between the two eyes (spherical equivalent) ≥1.00 DS. The percentage of the survey subjects with different refractive status in different grades were compared. Results: A total of 40 302 subjects were enrolled, including 21 328 males and 18 974 females. There were 37 938 Han and 2 364 ethnic minorities; 26 122 elementary, 9 346 middle and 4 834 high schools. The total detection rate of low visual acuity was 59.1% (23 832/40 302), and 48.8% (12 748/26 122) in primary school, junior middle school and senior high school, 76.9% (7 189/9 346) and 87.9% (4 250/4 834), respectively. The total detection rate of myopia was 63.3% (25 521/40 302), among which, the detection rate of screening myopia in primary school, middle school and high school was 51.4% (13 438/26 122), 84.4% (7 888/9 346) and 86.8% (4 195/4 834), respectively. The detection rates of screening low visual acuity, hyperopia, myopia, astigmatism and anisometropia were statistically significant in low, middle and high grades (all P<0.001). Conclusion: The detection rate of low vision and myopia among primary and secondary school students in Lanzhou is higher than the national average, and the detection rate increases gradually with the increase of grades.

Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is one of the most devastating complications following bone marrow transplantation. GVHD develops in 10–80% of patients after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The eye is one of the most vulnerable organs of the human body. Ocular GVHD occurs in 40–60% of patients with GVHD undergoing HSCT, and it mostly affects the lacrimal glands, meibomian glands, cornea, and conjunctiva. The most common form of ocular GVHD is dry eye disease (DED). The long-term treatment of cGVHD-related dry eye syndrome remains challenging and involves a multidisciplinary approach. Besides systemic immunosuppression and ocular lubricants, topical steroids, topical cyclosporine, and topical tacrolimus are commonly prescribed. Newer therapeutic interventions for moderate and severe cGVHD-related DED include using serum eye drops and scleral contact lenses. Emerging treatment options include subconjunctival injection of heavy chain-hyaluronan (HC-HA)/ pentraxin 3 (PTX3), intravenous injection of mesenchymal stromal cells, antifibrotic drugs, etc. This article reviews the mechanisms, clinical findings, and treatment of cGVHD-related dry eye syndrome.

Objective: To investigate the correlation between metformin therapy and diabetic retinopathy (DR) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: The clinical data of 1 891 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus attending the ophthalmology department of China-Japan Friendship Hospital from September 2015 to August 2020 were reviewed. A retrospective study was performed on 324 cases of these T2DM patients with disease duration ≥10 years. Medical records of all patients including general information, history of medical disease, diabetes treatment, ophthalmologic examination and blood biochemical indices were collected. According to whether metformin treatment was received or not, the patients were divided into a metformin-treated and a non-metformin-treated groups. DR is classified into non-obvious DR, non-proliferative DR and proliferative DR according to the fundus examination and the clinical diagnostic criteria of DR. Logistic multiple regression analysis was used to determine the effects of age, sex, age of DM onset, duration of DM, duration of hypertension,

duration of hyperlipidemia, years of smoking, body mass index, insulin treatment and fasting glucose, glycated hemoglobin, total cholesterol, triglycerides, uric acid and blood creatinine levels on DR. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in the risk of developing DR between the metformin-treated and non-metformin-treated groups (P>0.05). Univariate and multifactorial analyses of variables related to the occurrence and different stages of DR in patients with T2DM showed that years of smoking, fasting glucose and creatinine were positively associated with DR (P<0.05), while age was negatively associated with DR (P<0.01), and age of DM onset was significantly negatively associated with DR (OR=0.95, 95%CI: 0.92 to 0.98, P=0.0003). In T2DM patients treated with metformin, neither the duration of metformin (OR=1.02, 95%CI: 0.96 to 1.08, P>0.05) nor the mean dose(OR=1.50, 95%CI: 0.79 to 2.84, P>0.05) was significantly associated with developing DR. The risk of developing DR was lower in women than in men (P<0.05); combined insulin therapy was significantly positively correlated with the risk of DR (OR=3.11, 95%CI: 1.59 to 6.07, P<0.01); long-term smoking, glycosylated hemoglobin and uric acid levels higher than normal were positively associated with DR (P<0.05). In metformin users, there was a significant difference in the risk of developing DR between the no-insulin treatment group and the combined insulin group (P<0.01); and among patients not using metformin, insulin therapy was positively associated with the occurrence of DR (OR=12.43, 95%CI: 3.75 to 41.19, P<0.0001). Conclusion: There was no significant association between metformin treatment and DR among patients with T2DM for >10 years.

Objective: To establish a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the determination of tetracaine hydrochloride and ethyl hydrobenzoate in tetracaine hydrochloride eye drops. Methods: The analytic column was Agilent Eclipse Plus C18 (4.6 mm ×250 mm, 5 μm) and the mobile phase was 1% triethylamine solution (10 mL triethylamine and 990 mL water, pH adjusted to 5.0±0.5 with glacial acetic acid) - acetonitrile (65:35) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The detection wavelength was 256 nm and the column temperature was 30 ℃. The injection volume was 20 μL. Results: The linear range of tetracaine hydrochloride was well shown within 0.05–0.36 mg/mL (r=1.000). The average recovery rate of tetracaine hydrochloride was 99.2% with relative standard deviation (RSD) 0.3% (n=9). The linear range of ethyl hydrobenzoate was well shown within 3.02–24.14 μg/mL (r=1.000). The average recovery rate of tetracaine hydrochloride was 98.2% with RSD 0.4%(n=9). The method had high reproducibility. The reference solution and testing solution were stable for 24 h in room. Conclusion: The method is simple, quick and accurate, which is suitable for the determination of tetracaine hydrochloride and ethyl hydrobenzoate in tetracaine hydrochloride eye drops.

Endogenous stem cells have significant advantages in cell therapy for excellent histocompatibility, low tumorigenicity risk, unnecessity for in vitro expansion and culture, and low disease transmission risk. There have been some applications for endogenous stem cells in treating diseases, targeting some organic and functional diseases throughout the body. In ocular tissue, the lens is a breakthrough for regenerative therapy due to its potential to grow throughout life and observation accessibility. Achieving lens regeneration in adult mammals attributes to some prerequisites. Firstly, the location of endogenous stem cells in the lens has been identified. Then, surgical approaches have been advanced to preserve lens stem cells and create a microenvironment suitable for lens regeneration. Protein compositional analysis of the regenerated lens reveals that it is similar to a mature lens rather than an embryonic lens, suggesting that the regulation of lens regeneration is not the same as the induction of embryonic onset. The strategy for regulating lens regeneration needs to focus not only on the activation and proper differentiation of stem cells but also on regulating the process of epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT). In the future, in order to apply the experiences of lens regeneration to other ocular tissues, to mobilize endogenous cells and promote their growth, some strategies could be used. These strategies include mimicking cellular stress via the addition of cellular active ingredients, such as exosome, mitochondria, and small molecular compounds. Additionally, we can also try to restore lens tissue structure and microenvironment through surgical or biomaterial assistance.

Objective: To evaluate the application quality of picture archiving and communication system (PACS) based on WeChat in standardized resident training in orbital department. Methods: A total of 66 doctors trained in the Orbital Department of Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center were divided into group A (PACS group) and Group B (WeChat +PACS group). The quality and feedback of teaching of the two groups of students were compared through examination and questionnaire. Results: The scores of basic knowledges and reading skills of group B were significantly higher than those of group A (P<0.001, P=0.037). The self-assessment scale for teaching quality showed that the students in group B were superior to group A in understanding the position of anatomical structure, imaging diagnosis and differential diagnosis according to CT or MRI, interpreting CT or MRI images in the future, and interest in CT or MRI imaging (all P<0.001). All the students (100.00%) were very satisfied with this mode of teaching. Conclusion: The application of PACS based on WeChat in standardized resident training in orbital department can significantly improve the quality and satisfaction of ophthalmology teaching.

During terminal differentiation of lens fiber cells, nuclei and other organelles experience programmed elimination.This process is essential for the maintenance of lens transparency. However, the mechanisms underlying lens organelle degradation remain unclear. Identification of the mechanisms can provide a theoretical basis for elucidating the pathogenesis of cataract and is expected to reveal new intervention targets for lens regeneration. In this review, we discuss potential mechanisms and the process of lens organelle degradation.

Objective: To observe the outcomes of bioengineered cornea for lamellar keratoplasty in the infectious keratitis.Methods: A total of 19 cases with infectious keratitis treated by bioengineered cornea in Chengdu Aidi Eye Hospital were analyzed retrospectively. The results of graft survival, visual acuity and complications were collected.Rejection reaction was compared with 22 cases of human donor corneal lamellar keratoplasty during the same period. Results: In the 19 cases patients, 9 cases were women (47.37%) with the average age of 53.32 years. Among the pathogenic factors, 7 cases were bacterial keratitis (36.84%), 8 cases were fungal keratitis (42.11%) and 4 cases were viral (21.05%). The results of preoperative uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) showed that 3 cases were light perception (accurate light positioning), 5 cases were hand moving, 4 cases were counting finger, and 7 cases were in the range of 3.0–3.9. In the follow-up, no case of primary infection recurrence occurred; 18 grafts survived except one case dissolved end with re-transplant by human donor. The postoperative UCVA of 15 cases (78.95%) were in the range of 4.0–4.5, 3 cases were in the range of 3.0–4.0 (15.79%), and 1 case of counting finger (5.26%). There was no significant difference in rejection action (P=0.736). In the follow-up more than 6–12 months, the limbal neovascularization of the biological engineering cornea is more likely to invade with the result of ring shape opacity at the graft edge. Conclusion: The biological engineering cornea can play a good role in the reconstruction for the cases with infectious keratitis. It provides another way to solve the shortage of corneal grafts.

The ability and level of postgraduate tutor is one of the key factors affecting the quality of graduate education. In view of the weak basic ophthalmic knowledge, lack of practical opportunities and the inefficiency in innovation ability among ophthalmology graduates, as well as the lack of initiative and vitality in teaching team, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-Sen University has been gradually established the dual management structure of “administration and experts”. By guiding and encouraging the teachers participate in the curriculum reform of graduates, scientific research ability training, management informatization, the teaching quality control, student administration and so on. Through improving the long-term mechanism of teachers’ participation in teaching reform governance, the quality of teachers has been improved, which promote the high-quality development of ophthalmology graduate education.