Colour vision status of staff working with radiation in public hospital

Growing application of radiation sources and lack of awareness among workers in practicing protective measures imply an increased risk of radiation exposure to eye. This study determined the status of colour vision and its association with working duration amongst staff working with radiation in a university hospital. A total of 55 employees (28 exposed (RS) and 27 not directly exposed to radiation (NRS)) were recruited and 30 employees were used as controls. Visual acuity (VA) was measured using Snellen chart. Colour vision assessments were conducted using Ishihara plates, D15 panel and FM 100 hues and the results were analysed using one way ANOVA. The subjects’ age ranged between 29 and 44 years old. Mean VA for all subjects was 6/6. More than 50% of the subjects has colour defects, 3.45% of RS failed D15, 37.93% failed FM 100 hue, 7.4% of NRS failed D15 and 55.56% failed FM 100 hue. Significant difference was found in the total error scores between RS (77.10 ± 6.05) and NRS (84.89 ± 7.76) with the controls (41.47 ± 3.10) [ANOVA F(2,83)=16.084, p=0.00]. There was no association between working duration and severity of colour defect [r(104)= -0.123, p>0.05]. This study concludes that majority of the studied subjects has color deficiency but not significantly correlated with their working duration. Protective measures need to be taken to improve the situation

Eye blinking patterns, corneal staining and compliance in a group of soft contact lens wearers

Many factors influence the success of contact lens wear, including lens surface moisture, which is affected by blinking. This study was conducted to determine the eye blinking patterns, corneal staining, and compliance in a group of soft contact lens (CL) wearers. Forty-one soft CL wearers and 41 age-matched control subjects (non-CL wearers) were recruited in this study. Blinking patterns were assessed with a digital camera attached to a slit lamp biomicroscope. Corneal staining was graded using Institute for Eye Research (IER) grading scale with 0.1 increments. The subject’s compliance level was determined using a questionnaire. There was no difference in eye blinking patterns between the CL wearers and control group (Mann-Whitney, p = 0.231). The average grades of corneal staining in CL wearers and control group were 0.38 ± 0.39 and 0.01 ± 0.08 unit, respectively. There was a significant difference in corneal staining between the two groups (Mann-Whitney, p = 0.021). A significant positive correlation was found between blinking patterns and corneal staining (Spearman ρ = 0.378, p = 0.015). Our results also showed that 63.4% of the CL wearers had good compliance towards lens care. In our multiple linear regression analysis, blinking patterns contributed significantly to corneal staining (B = 0.140, p = 0.015), while compliance level did not (B = -0.038, p = 0.471). Overall, eye blinking patterns in CL wearers influenced the risk of corneal staining

Vision status: presbyopic patient undergone corneal inlay procedure

This study reports the vision status of a presbyopic patient who has undergone a corneal inlay procedure. The study hopes to provide optometrists more insight on the procedure and the co-management involved in such a patient. The patient, a 48 years-old Chinese woman with presbyopia underwent the corneal inlay procedure three years ago. She had the inlay implanted in the non-dominant eye to aid near vision i.e. her left eye. The pre and post-operative evaluations include distance and near visual acuity, fundoscopy, tonometry, Schirmer’s test, slit lamp evaluation, corneal topography and corneal pachymetry. Near visual acuity for the left eye improved from N14 to N5 immediately after the procedure. Even after 3 years of post-operative followup, the patient was still able to maintain her near vision. In conclusion, the corneal inlay procedure helped to improve near vision of this presbyopic patient. Optometrist plays a very important role in the co-management of such patients alongside with the ophthalmologist in terms of visual functional assessments pre and post-surgery, counseling of the procedure and managing patients’ expectations

Evidence-based practice in optometry: are the knowledge carried forward by students after graduation?

The aim of this study is to explore the perceived benefit of Evidence-based practice (EBP) as teaching and learning approaches in undergraduate optometry program. The perceived benefit of EBP was measured using Taipei Evidence-Based Practice Questionnaire (TEBPQ). TEBPQ consists of 26 self-reported items, which include domains of ‘Ask’, ‘Acquire”, ‘Appraisal’, ‘Apply’ and ‘Attitude’. The questionnaire was administered to two cohorts of Optometry students. Thirteen students in cohort 2018/2019 (new graduates) and 35 students in cohort 2019/2020 (ongoing training) completed the questionnaire. The highest score for students in cohort 2018/2019 was for ‘Ask’ domain (3.26±0.41) and the lowest score was for ‘Apply’ domain (3.05±0.57). The highest score for students in cohort 2019/2020 was for ‘Ask’ domain (3.22±0.35) and the lowest score is ‘Appraisal’ domain (3.02±0.41).However, two-samples Mann-Whitney U test showed no significant difference for all four domains in EBP between the two cohorts (p>0.05). ‘Attitude’ domain also showed no significant difference between the two cohorts (p>0.05). In this study, both cohorts of optometry students showed equal EBP related knowledge and they have good attitude towards the importance of EBP competencies in clinical decision making