Central corneal thickness in black Cameroonian ocular hypertensive and glaucomatous subjects

Christelle Domngang Noche1, André Omgbwa Eballe2, Assumpta Lucienne Bella31Innel Medical Center, 2Faculty of Medicine, University of Douala, 3Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé, CameroonPurpose: To evaluate central corneal thickness (CCT) in a black Cameroonian population of ocular hypertensive and glaucomatous subjects.Material and methods: This was a prospective study undertaken with an ultrasonic pachymeter from January 2009 to December 2009 in an eye clinic (INNEL Medical center) in Yaoundé, Cameroon.Results: One hundred subjects (200 eyes) were enrolled in the study. Sixty subjects were glaucomatous (primary open angle glaucoma, POAG group), and 40 ocular hypertensive (OHT group). The mean age of the sample was 52.60 ± 12.23 years. For the whole sample, CCT was 534.71 ± 37.95 µm in the right eye and 533.61 ± 37.67 µm in the left eye, with no statistically significant difference between the 2 eyes (P = 0.446). CCT in the POAG group was 526.30 ± 37.34 µm in the right eye and 524.90 ± 35.92 µm in the left eye. CCT in the OHT group was 547.32 ± 35.71 µm in the right eye and 546.67 ± 36.85 µm in the left eye. There was a statistically significant difference between CCT of the 2 groups (right eye: P = 0.013; left eye: P = 0.007).Conclusion: Mean CCT of ocular hypertensive subjects was thicker than CCT of glaucomatous ones in our Cameroonian sample. However, in both ocular hypertensive or glaucomatous patients, CCT of black Cameroonians is thinner than that reported in other studies in Caucasian populations.Keywords: central corneal thickness, ocular hypertension, glaucoma, black Cameroonia

Cataract surgery with intraocular lens implantation in children aged 5-15 in local anaesthesia: visual outcomes and complications

The aim of this study was to report feasibility, the visual outcomes and complications of pediatric cataract surgery with primary intraocular lens implantation in children aged 5 to15 years in local anesthesia. This retrospective interventional case series included 62 eyes from 50 children who underwent pediatrc cataract surgery with primary intraocular lens implantation at the Mana eye Clinic Nkongsamba between 2006 and 2015 Main outcome measures were: best-corrected post operative visual acuity, and intraoperative and postoperative complications. Mean age at surgery was 10.18 ± 3.21 years. Mean follow up length was 15.75 ± 3.36 weeks. Etiology included: 10 congenital cataracs (16.12%). 35 developmental cataracts (56.45%) and 17 traumatic cataracts (27.41%). The mean preoperative BCVA was logMAR 1.19 ± 0.33. (range 0.6-2.3). After cycloplegia refraction 2 weeks after surgery, the mean postoperative BCVA was log MAR 0.58 ± 0.88 ( range 0.5-1.8). The mean implanted IOL power was 22.01 ±3.16 D. IOL was succefuly implanted in 54 eyes (87.07%). Eight eyes (9.67%) were left aphakic. Increase in BCVA of 4 logMAR lines and above was recorded in 27 patients (43.55%). Intraoperative complications included: 4 posterior capsule holes with vitrous lost, 3 lenses subluxation and 1 case of iris dialyse. Late postoperative complications included: posterior capsular opacity which occurred in 16 patients, 3 posterior synechia, 2 retinal detachment. Peribulbar anaesthesia can be considered as a viable option in selected patients presenting developmental cataract undergoing cataract surgery in developing countries. Effort should be made to improve the early identification of congenital cataract and its early surgical intervention and prompt optical rehabilitation to prevent amblyopia.Pan African Medical Journal 2016; 2

Aflatoxin Contamination in Food and Body Fluids in Relation to Malnutrition and Cancer Status in Cameroon

Aflatoxins are food contaminants usually associated with hepatitis, immunodepression, impairment of fertility and cancer. The present work was to determine the presence of aflatoxins in eggs, milk, urine, and blood samples that were collected from various sources and periods; and hepatitis B virus antigen in blood samples. Aflatoxin was found in eggs (45.2%), cow raw milk (15.9%), breast milk (4.8%), urine from kwashiorkor and marasmic kwashiorkor children (45.5%), and sera from primary liver cancer patients (63.9%); HbsAg was also detected in 69.4% of the serum samples, but there was no association between both factors. Both AF and hepatitis B virus seem to be risk factors that could increase the incidence and prevalence rates of malnutrition and cancer in Cameroon

Smartphone-Assisted Glaucoma Screening in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: a Pilot Study

We aimed to determine true and false positives of glaucoma screening, relying solely on photos of the retina, taken with a smartphone. We performed a descriptive and analytical study on patients with type 2 diabetes at the National Obesity Centre, Yaoundé, Cameroon. Participating patients had retinal photography sessions using an iPhone 5s (iOS 10.3.3; Apple, Cupertino, CA) coupled to the Make in India Retinal Camera (MIIRetCam; MIIRetCam Inc., Coimbatore, TN, India). Obtained pictures of the retina were stored and transferred via the internet to an ophthalmologist to assess glaucoma. Selected patients were then invited to undergo a conventional ophthalmological examination to confirm the diagnosis. A total of 395 patients were screened, 39 (including 20 women) were diagnosed with suspicion of glaucoma based on retinal photos, a prevalence rate of 9.87%. The following signs were found; C/D ≥0.5 in 64.1% (25/39), asymmetric C/D >0.2 in 35.9% (14/39), papillary haemorrhage in 10.2% (4/39) and retinal nerve fibre deficiency in 2.5% (1/39). Only 14 of 39 patients with suspicion of glaucoma were examined, giving a lost-to-follow-up rate of 64.1%. Chronic open-angle glaucoma was confirmed in 8 patients (true positives) and absent in 6 patients (false positives). The prevalence of smartphone-detected glaucoma and lost-to-follow-up rates were high. So we need to improve this type of screening, with additional tests like transpalpebral applanation tonometer and the smartphone Frequency Doubling Technique visual field combined with better education of patients to increase their adherence to follow-up

Smartphone-Assisted Glaucoma Screening in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: a Pilot Study

We aimed to determine true and false positives of glaucoma screening, relying solely on photos of the retina, taken with a smartphone. We performed a descriptive and analytical study on patients with type 2 diabetes at the National Obesity Centre, Yaoundé, Cameroon. Participating patients had retinal photography sessions using an iPhone 5s (iOS 10.3.3; Apple, Cupertino, CA) coupled to the Make in India Retinal Camera (MIIRetCam; MIIRetCam Inc., Coimbatore, TN, India). Obtained pictures of the retina were stored and transferred via the internet to an ophthalmologist to assess glaucoma. Selected patients were then invited to undergo a conventional ophthalmological examination to confirm the diagnosis. A total of 395 patients were screened, 39 (including 20 women) were diagnosed with suspicion of glaucoma based on retinal photos, a prevalence rate of 9.87%. The following signs were found; C/D ≥0.5 in 64.1% (25/39), asymmetric C/D >0.2 in 35.9% (14/39), papillary haemorrhage in 10.2% (4/39) and retinal nerve fibre deficiency in 2.5% (1/39). Only 14 of 39 patients with suspicion of glaucoma were examined, giving a lost-to-follow-up rate of 64.1%. Chronic open-angle glaucoma was confirmed in 8 patients (true positives) and absent in 6 patients (false positives). The prevalence of smartphone-detected glaucoma and lost-to-follow-up rates were high. So we need to improve this type of screening, with additional tests like transpalpebral applanation tonometer and the smartphone Frequency Doubling Technique visual field combined with better education of patients to increase their adherence to follow-up

Prise en charge de l'hépatite C chronique en 2016

Chronic hepatitis C virus infection is a major public health problem. It is estimated that 15 to 35 % of infected patients will develop cirrhosis after a period of 30 years. Fibrosis stage must be evaluated in all hepatitis-C-infected patients, even in patients with normal serum transaminases. Non-invasive methods for the evaluation of liver fibrosis have been developed, mainly serum markers and transient elastography or Fibroscan™. The goal of therapy is to achieve a sustained virological response, defined by hepatitis C RNA undetectable in serum 12 weeks after the end of therapy. This indicates viral eradication. Treatment of chronic hepatitis C is a real revolution. New therapies consist in direct acting antivirals. These treatments offer high chance of viral eradication (> 90 %), and are very well tolerated. In Belgium, at the moment, reimbursement of new antiviral therapies is limited to patients with advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis. Those reimbursement criteria would change in a very near future, allowing more patients to be treated. Hepatitis C viral elimination is possible in the next 15 years at a population level in Belgium, but this implies a significant improvement in screening and access to therapy.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Étude de la relaxation spin-réseau et spin-spin des protons et des deutérons en solutions aqueuses d’halogénures de gallium

On étudie les vitesses de relaxation spin-réseau 1/T, et spin-spin 1 /T2 des protons et des dcutérons en fonction de la concentration des sels diamagnétiques GaCl3 (l), GaBr3 et Gal3 dissous dans H2O et D2O.De ces mesures nous déduisons notamment, les nombres d’hydratation des ions halogènes, les temps de corrélation de rotation des molécules de solvant, ainsi que la constante de couplage quadrupolaire des deutérons des molécules hydratant l’ion Ga3+. On examine également la possibilité d’obtenir des informations sur le contact ionique