ALICANTE, 2 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Ophthalmology service of the Sant Joan d’Alacant University Hospital has implemented a “novel treatment” at the center with topical insulin for the treatment of persistent epithelial defects or ulcers in the eyes.
The head of the Ophthalmology service, Dr. Encarnación Mengual, explained that it is a “masterful formula” that the Pharmacy service prepares in the form of eye drops and that it is giving “very good results in patients with persistent problems in the epithelium or outer layer of the cornea that did not respond to conventional treatments”, as indicated by the Alicante-Sant Joan d’Alacant Health Department.
So far, they have treated about 20 ophthalmology patients with this insulin eye drop, similar to what diabetics use, but adapted for topical use in the eye. Patients themselves can administer the eye drops, which they collect at the Hospital Pharmacy service for outpatients and which must be kept in the refrigerator for a maximum of one month.
Precisely, the exhibition ‘Topical insulin as a treatment in persistent epithelial defects’ by Dr. Elena Arias, from the Medical Ophthalmological Foundation of the Valencian Community (FOM), has been the winner in the previous pole category of the meeting of residents of the Ophthalmological Society of the Valencian Community (SOCV), which has hosted the Sant Joan d’Alacant Hospital.
This is the largest meeting held so far, with a hundred attendees. The meeting was inaugurated by the manager of the Alicante-Sant Joan d’Alacant health department, Juan Antonio Marqués, who was pleased with the great interest of training specialists in exchanging knowledge and presenting their studies and clinical cases.
The presentations have been divided into two blocks, one dedicated to the anterior pole and the other to the posterior pole of the eye, and prizes have been awarded. Dr. Gema Ferrús, from the Torrevieja Hospital, has won first prize in the retinal pathology block with her exhibition ‘Acute idiopathic maculopathy, about a clinical case’.
There has also been a clinical case workshop led by Dr. José Pia, from the FOM. In addition, Dr. Raquel Moral from the Sant Joan d’Alacant Hospital, has shown residents how to explore babies in her presentation ‘The little ones, for another!’.
“It is common that we must examine small children and very young babies, including all premature babies in whom pathologies such as retinopathy of prematurity must be ruled out or check if they have congenital cataracts, among other ailments,” explained Dr. Mengual.
In this sense, the head of the Ophthalmology service has pointed out that there are techniques that residents must learn to examine babies and children, “whose vision must always be checked with their parents, treating them with affection and doing a kind of I play with them, with small toys and bright objects.
The residents have also received notions of neuro-ophthalmology with Dr. Font and have learned to perform examinations with the indirect ophthalmoscope and scleral indectation techniques. These consist of pressing the eye to reach the periphery so that no retinal tear escapes during the eye examination, as Dr. Molina explained in his presentation, interactive with all the MIRs.
