information and provide your center with an individualized report.
Keep in mind, too, that your facility may be subject to local or state
regulations that you report a TASS outbreak to a public agency.
5. It's not just a cataract surgery thing.
TASS has long been
associated primarily with cataract surgery; Dr. Lee surmises that's
because cataract surgeries are by far the most common eye surgery.
But it's turned up after other eye procedures, as well. "We've seen
TASS in any anterior segment intraocular surgery," says Dr. Mamalis,
citing examples of corneal transplants and glaucoma surgeries.
6. There's late-onset TASS, too.
TASS is usually thought of as
an acute condition that presents within 12 to 48 hours after surgery.
But a rarer subset of this rare condition is late-onset TASS, which can
show up weeks or months after the surgery. Dr. Mamalis says the
causes of late-onset TASS are usually not related to instrument clean-
ing and sterilization, but rather to particular medications or lenses
that are used, including ointments and petroleum-based medications.
One late onset case he studied years ago, for example, was caused by
problems with residual polishing compounds left on IOLs.
7. TASS is not infectious endophthalmitis.
Even though the
distinctions between the conditions have been clearly delineated for
some time — most obviously, that the onset of TASS is more acute —
they are still occasionally mistaken for each other. "People are aware
of TASS, and what TASS is, but when they see post-operative inflam-
mation, the first thing they suspect is an infection," says Dr. Lee.
"TASS is usually not high in the differential diagnosis, and therefore
warrants more education and raising awareness."
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