Infantile esotropia in Malaysian children: The impact of surgery on health-related quality of life assessment in patients and their parents

Introduction: Limited information is available on healthrelated quality of life (HRQoL) in children with strabismus in South East Asia. We aimed to evaluate the HRQoL and associated factors pre- and post-strabismus surgery in Malaysian children with infantile esotropia and their parents/guardians. Methods: A prospective study was conducted on children with infantile esotropia aged 8-17 years old and their parents/guardians who attended two tertiary hospitals with a paediatric ophthalmology service from 2017 to 2018. The patients and parents answered the Intermittent Exotropia Questionnaire (IXTQ), translated into Malay, at the time of enrolment and three months after the surgery. Results: Thirty-four children and one (each) of their parents/guardians were enrolled. Thirteen (38.2%) children had esotropia with angles of deviation of more than 50 prism dioptres. A total of 33 (97.1%) children achieved successful alignment correction three months after surgery. Surgery significantly improved the total mean scores of the children, which were 62.87 (17.05) preoperatively and 87.13 (13.26) postoperatively (p<0.001). There was statistically improvement in the total mean scores in the parent/guardian group, which was 37.07 (22.01) preoperatively and 75.39 (22.09) postoperatively (p<0.001). The parents/guardians functional, psychosocial and surgery subscales also had a significant increment in the score postoperatively (p<0.001). Older children and children with poorer visual acuity on presentation had a lower score preoperatively, while girls scored better postoperatively (p<0.05). Mothers scored significantly lower preoperatively and postoperatively (p<0.05). Conclusion: Surgery significantly improved the HRQoL score in Malaysian children with infantile esotropia and their parents/guardians. The score was significantly higher in female children after the surgery. Mothers exhibited poor scores before and after surgery

Assessment of health related quality of life using specific strabismus questionnaire on pre-and post-strabismus surgery in children with infantile esotropia and their parents

Introduction: Children with infantile esotropia and their parents experienced various functional and psychosocial problems. However, there is insufficient knowledge regarding the impact of infantile esotropia as well as the effect of surgical correction towards the children and their parents. Objective: To evaluate HRQoL assessment on pre- and post-strabismus surgery in children with infantile esotropia and their parent/guardian by using Malay translated IXTQ. Methodology: This prospective study was conducted in Ophthalmology Clinics, Sabah Women and Children Hospital and Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia from June 2017 until November 2018. The children and their parent/guardian were asked to answer Malay translated IXTQ at enrolment and three months after surgery. The total mean scores and three subscale scores which were functional, psychosocial and surgery, were calculated and compared before and after surgery. Result: A total of 34 children with infantile esotropia aged 8-17 years accompanied by one of their parent/guardian were recruited. Thirteen (38.2%) children had esotropia more than 50 prism dioptres. Thirty three (97.1%) children achieved successful alignment correction. Strabismus surgery had significantly improved the total mean scores in children after surgery, which was 62.87 preoperatively and 87.13 postoperatively (p < 0.001). There was statistically improvement in total mean scores in parent group, which was 37.07 preoperatively and 75.39 postoperatively (p < 0.001). Its three subscales also had significant increment of the score postoperatively (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The mean scores of HRQoL assessment in children with infantile esotropia and their parents were improved significantly after strabismus surgery

Graphite pencils cause ocular injury in pediatric patients: a case series

Purpose: Graphite pencils rarely cause ocular injury. However, the available data are limited. We aimed to identify the demographic data, clinical manifestations, presenting visual acuities, and final visual outcomes in children with ocular injuries caused by graphite pencils. Methods: A retrospective case series was conducted of children who had ocular trauma due to graphite pencils and was treated at Sabah Women and Children Hospital, Malaysia, from May 2015 to April 2018. The information about age, gender, presenting visual acuity, site and severity of injury, and treatment received were documented for each case. The final visual acuity at 6-month post-trauma was recorded. Results: Eight boys were recruited. The mean age was 8.4 years, and ranged from 5 to 10 years old. All had unilateral ocular involvement. The left eye was affected in 62.5% of the patients. The injuries occurred both at home and in schools, with equal distribution of closed and open globe injuries. About 75.0% had injuries that involved the conjunctival, corneal, and scleral tissues and the remaining 25.0% had injuries to the deeper structures including the iris, lens and vitreous. A presenting visual acuity worse than 6/12 (20/40) was documented in 62.5% of the patients and 37.5% had a final visual acuity 6/12 (20/40) or worse, mainly due to corneal scars. Conclusions: Injuries caused by graphite pencils mainly affected boys aged from 5 to 10 years. The majority of the boys had injuries to the anterior segment structures, and 62.5% had final visual acuities of 6/9 (20/30) and better. These injuries are essentially preventable

Author Correction: Saliva is more sensitive than nasopharyngeal or nasal swabs for diagnosis of asymptomatic and mild COVID-19 infection (Scientific Reports, (2021), 11, 1, (3134), 10.1038/s41598-021-82787-z)

10.1038/s41598-021-89880-3Scientific Reports1111253

Saliva is more sensitive than nasopharyngeal or nasal swabs for diagnosis of asymptomatic and mild COVID-19 infection

10.1038/s41598-021-82787-zScientific Reports111313