Journal Reviews archive for December 2013
Culture positivity of needles for IVT injections
Given the worldwide use of intravitreal (IVT) injections, the authors of this paper set out to evaluate the rate of culture positivity of the needles used in routine IVT injections and compare this positivity between 27-gauge and 30-gauge needle tips....
Molecular genetics of achromatopsia
Achromatopsia is a rare autosomal recessive disorder of the cone photoreceptors. Typical characteristics of affected patients include the inability to distinguish colours, impaired visual acuity, photophobia and nystagmus. The condition is said to be more frequent in the Pingelapese population...
Reliability of Fluorescein Dye Disappearance Test (FDDT)
The authors look at the role of the FDDT in the evaluation of adults with primary acquired nasolacrimal duct obstruction (PANDO) and its correlation with the age and severity of epiphora. They report the results of a prospective cross-sectional comparative...
Erythropoietin in healing corneal epithelial defects in rabbits
Corneal epithelial defects heal slowly in patients with diabetes, limbal stem cell deficiency and severe chemical burns. Erythropoietin is a glycoprotein hormone that promotes red blood cell proliferation and inhibits apoptosis of erythroid progenitors as well as nonhematopoietic cells. In...
Correlation between peak intraocular pressure following water drinking test and pulsed methylprednisolone therapy
Steroids have long been known to cause increased intraocular pressures (IOP) in susceptible patients. Intravenous methylprednisolone is used to treat many rheumatological conditions and one of the risks is raised intraocular pressure. It would be useful to find patients at...
Swept-source OCT for measuring peripheral anterior synechiae
The authors report on a cross-sectional study looking at swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) for measuring the area and degree of peripheral anterior synechiae (PAS) in patients with angle closure glaucoma. The SS-OCT is commercially available, has a laser wavelength...
Rebamipide 2% for dry eye
Rebamipide is a quinolinone derivative that has been found to increase mucin production and the number of conjunctival goblet cells. A previous phase two study has shown rebamipide 2% to be better than placebo in improving the ocular surface and...
Moxifloxacin 0.5% for bacterial keratitis
The authors report on the results of a randomised controlled trial comparing commercially available non-preserved moxifloxacin 0.5% vs. a combination of fortified cefazolin 5% and tobramycin 1.3% in the treatment of moderate bacterial keratitis without perforation. Corneal scrapings were collected...
The long-term effects of AREDS on AMD progression
The Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) was an 11-centre, double-masked, clinical trial that in 2001 found a high-dose of antioxidant vitamins plus zinc was effective in protecting against progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in patients with moderate to high...
Long-term results of cross-linking treatment for keratoconus
The authors report on the long-term outcomes in a prospective case series of patients with keratoconus undergoing corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL) treatment. Thirty-two patients (40 eyes; mean age 22.5+/-5.5 years) with Grade I, II and III progressive keratoconus were recruited...
A simple technique for managing eyelid retraction in a patient with an exposed Boston type 2 keratoprosthesis (Kpro)
The article describes a patient with mucous membrane pemphigoid and a Boston type 2 Kpro. In the early postoperative period (one week) inferior skin retraction was noted with exposure of the Kpro and carrier cornea. The exposure was managed by...
Pars plana vitrectomy for vitreomacular traction syndrome
This paper presents a meta-analysis and systematic review of the safety and efficacy of vitrectomy for vitreomacular traction (VMT), based on 21 eligible articles from 460 identified. A strength of this study is that it provided pooled analysis across a...
