Short, Intermediate and Long Term Results of Ahmed Glaucoma Valve Implantation

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Ahmed glaucoma valve (AGV) implantation for glaucomatous eyes in short, intermediate, and long term follow up periods.Patients and Methods:  In this retrospective study 76 eyes of 76 patients who underwent AGV insertion in Imam Hossein Medical Center, Tehran, Iran, between January 2008 and March 2017 with at least three years of followup were included. At each visit complete ophthalmic examination was performed and the success rate of surgery was assessed. Surgical success  was defined  as  5 ≤ IOP ≤ 21  mmHg  and  at  least  20 %  reduction  in  IOP without any glaucoma medication (complete success), or with the use of anti glaucoma medication (qualified success). The sum of complete and qualified success was reported as cumulative success.Results: The mean age of patients was 53.18 ± 16.92 years and the mean duration of follow up was 3.27 ± 2.36 years (range: 1-5 years). The complete surgical success rate was 20 % at 1 year, 18 % at 2 years, 16 % at 3 years, 15 % at 4 years, and 8 % at 5 years of followup and there was no medication free patient at more than 5 years followup. The cumulative success rate was 91 %, 88 %, 84 %, 80 %, and 77 % at 1 to 5 years of followup respectively.Conclusion: Ahmed glaucoma valve (AGV) implantation for glaucomatous eyes results in acceptable IOP reduction and less medication need in short, intermediate, and long term follow up periods.Key words: Glaucoma; Intraocular pressure; Ahmed glaucoma valve; Treatment outcome.

Agreement between Lenstar and Pentacam in Keratometry and Anterior Chamber Depth Measurements

Purpose:  To compare keratometry and anterior chamber depth (ACD) measurements performed using Lenstar LS 900 (Haag-Streit AG, Switzerland) and the Pentacam (Oculus, Weltzar, Germany) devices in healthy eyes.Method: Sixty eyes of 30 healthy volunteers were included in this prospective study. Keratometry and ACD measurements were obtained using Lenstar, followed by Pentacam on the same day.  The readings of the two instruments were compared to evaluate their agreement.Results: The mean age of participants was 40.01 ± 12.29 years (Range 10 to 65years).  The mean ACD was 2.762 ± 0.281 millimeters when measured using Lenstar and 2.801 ± 0.273 millimeters when measured with Pentacam (P = 0.03). The average mean keratometry was 44.45 ± 1.65 diopter when measured with Lenstar and 44.16 ± 1.55 diopter when measured using  Pentacam (P < 0.001). The Bland-Altman plots demonstrated a wide range of inter-device differences in mean keratectomy and also ACD measurements between the two devices.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the ACD and keratometry measurements obtained using the Lenstar and Pentacam devices might not be interchangeable.Key words: Anterior Chamber; Cornea; Pentacam; Lenstar

Evaluation of Effective Indicators on Promotion of Webometric Rank of Golestan University of Medical Sciences Website

Presence on the Web and the realization of webometric indicators are one of the most important indicators of reflecting the international presence of universities. This study evaluates the content and technical characteristics that influence webometric rankings on Golestan University of Medical Sciences websites. This research is a descriptive practical survey that describes the status of the website based on the content and technical features that influence the promotion of webometric rankings. A total of 53 Golestan University of Medical Sciences websites were included, consisted of 7 college websites, 8 Deputies websites, and 16 websites for hospitals and 22 websites for research centers. Data were collected using checklist. Result shows that 49.46 percent of the expected indicators were met by the units. Colleges with the overall average of 57.64 percent had the highest compliance and the hospitals with 36.72 percent had the lowest compliance with the webometric indexes. The results show that 54.72 percent of the Deputies and 47.73 percent of the research centers have met the indicators. According to the findings, notice to the indicators that less-considered, is necessary for webometric managers and researchers. Also, given that Golestan University of Medical Sciences is the weakest in the Impact Index, considering the number of backlinks identified by search engines is one of the priorities of web infrastructure enhancement programs

The Effects of Macular Photocoagulation on Visual Field

Purpose: To evaluate visual field and nerve fiber layer thickness changes after Macular photocoagulation for treatment of diabetic macular edema. Setting: Rassoul Akram Hospital, Tehran, Iran. Material and method: Twenty six eyes with history of diabetes and clinically significant macular edema candidate for Macular photocoagulation were included in this prospective interventional case series. All patients underwent 10-2 and 24-2 Humphrey Visual Field Test with Swedish Interactive Thresholding Algorithm (SITA) standard strategy and also optic nerve and macular optical coherence tomography (OCT), before and 6 months after macular laser photocoagulation. Then visual field, peripapillary and macular nerve fiber layer thickness of each eye were compared before and after photocoagulation. Results: The mean age of patients was 57.60 ± 8.99 (range 33-73) years. There was no statistically significant change after photocoagulation compared to before the procedure regarding the mean deviation, pattern standard deviation and foveal threshold in visual field 10-2 and 24-2 tests except for pattern standard deviation in 10-2 test. Conclusion: Based on our results it seems that visual field is not affected by macular laser photocoagulation