Corneal injury by wild taro

We report a case of crystalline keratopathy caused by Alocasia macrorrhiza. The diagnosis was made based on the observation of needle-like crystals in the corneal stroma following injury to that eye. The condition resolved in 3 months with the disappearance of the crystals confirmed by follow-up confocal microscopy. © 2006 Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

A case series of contact lens-assocaited fusarium keratitis in Hong Kong

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Myopic macular hole: Response

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Double peel using triamcinolone acetonide and trypan blue in the management of myopic macular hole with retinal detachment: A case-control study

Abstract: Purpose: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of double peel using triamcinolone acetonide (TA) and trypan blue (TB) in removing epiretinal tissues in vitrectomy for myopic macular hole with retinal detachment (MHRD).Methods: Prospective interventional case control study. Patients with myopic MHRD underwent vitrectomy with TA-assisted adherent cortical vitreous (ACV) removal followed by TB-assisted internal-limiting membrane (ILM) peeling and gas tamponade. The results were compared with historical control group without the use of any vital dye or TA.Results: Ten eyes of 10 study cases were compared with nine eyes of nine control cases. Mean axial length was 28.3 ± 1.4 mm and 29.6 ± 2.4 mm and mean follow-up period was 15 months and 42 months for the study group and the control group, respectively. Reattachment rate was 70% in the study group and 44% in the control group. Mean logMAR visual acuity improvement was 0.02 at 6 months and 0.01 at 12 months for the study group (P < 0.05). Transient intraocular pressure rise was observed in seven eyes in the study group and five eyes in the control group. No other complication was noted.Conclusion: Double peel using TA and TB appeared safe and effective in facilitating removal of ACV and ILM in MHRD. It has higher surgical success rate compared with conventional vitrectomy with epiretinal membrane peeling and gas tamponade. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Pseudomonas aeruginosa choroidal abscess in a patient with bronchiectasis

Purpose: To report a case of Pseudomonas aeruginosa endophthalmitis with choroidal abscess formation in a patient with bronchiectasis. Methods: Case report. Results: A 75-year-old gentleman with bronchiectasis and P. aeruginosa pneumonia developed painless loss of right eye vision. The patient had previously undergone bronchoscopy to exclude pulmonary neoplasm. Slit-lamp examination revealed intense anterior chamber inflammation with hypopyon and B-scan ophthalmic ultrasound showed a choroidal mass consistent with choroidal abscess. Systemic and topical antibiotics did not prevent further progression of the infection. Patient declined pars plana vitrectomy and opted for enucleation. Polymerase-chain-reaction-based restriction fragment-length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) of the enucleated eye confirmed P. aeruginosa to be the causative organism. Conclusion: P. aeruginosa cannot be completely eradicated by systemic antibiotics, and bronchial colonization of P. aeruginosa can remain a potential source for metastatic infection. P. aeruginosa choroidal abscess, previously reported only in patients with cystic fibrosis, can also occur in bronchiectasis. Physicians should therefore have a high index of suspicion of endogenous endophthalmitis and treat aggressively, especially in patients with subretinal invasion and abscess formation. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2007.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Outbreak of Fusarium keratitis - Hong Kong experience

Aim: To describe a regional outbreak of Fusarium keratitis among contact lens wearers in Hong Kong. Methods: In this retrospective hospital-based study, all cases of fungal keratitis among contact lens wearers receiving treatment in 1 of the 7 hospital clusters in Hong Kong (United Christian Hospital and Tseung Kwan O Hospital)from May 2005 to September 2006 were reviewed. Additional clinical information was obtained through telephone interviews conducted by the same trained interviewer. Results: Fourteen patients (16 affected eyes) were identified as contact lens wearers with culture positive Fusarium keratitis during the study period. The mean age was 31.3 years (SD, 9.4 years; range, 18 to 49 years) with female predominance (male to female ratio, 3:11). Eleven of 12 patients (92%) reported using ReNu MoistureLoc multipurpose contact lens solution prior to the onset of infection. The onset of symptoms ranged from 1 to 7 days (average, 2.5 days). Five patients (36%) were treated with topical antibiotics without the need for specific antifungal therapy. Nine patients (64%) were treated with topical antifungal therapy. No patients required therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty. Fourteen eyes (87.5%) resolved with vision 20/40 or better and no eyes had vision 20/60 or worse. No recurrence of fungal lesions was noted. Conclusions: These findings showed that the majority of the affected patients were using ReNu solution prior to infection. Early commencement of either intensive topical broad-spectrum antibiotics or antifungal treatment was associated with improved visual outcome. © 2007 Scientific Communications International Limited.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Role of serum alpha-fetoprotein monitoring in detection of recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma after curative hepatectomy

Objective: To evaluate the usefulness of serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in detecting the recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after curative hepatectomy. Methods: From January 1995 to February 2000, 283 patients who underwent curative resection of HCC had their post-operative serum AFP levels serially monitored, and the AFP levels at the time of diagnosis of recurrence were analyzed for those patients who developed recurrence. The patients were divided into those with normal (i.e. < 20 ng/ml, n=115) and those with elevated preoperative serum AFP levels (n=168). Results: Of the 283 patients, 151 (53.4%) developed HCC recurrence. In patients with normal preoperative serum AFP levels, the sensitivities of the postoperative serum AFP level in detecting HCC recurrence were 36.7%, 8.3% and 1.7%, respectively, using AFP cut-off levels of 20 ng/ml, 100 ng/ml and 400 ng/ml. The corresponding specificities were 86.3%, 96.1%, and 98.0%, respectively, using the three cut-off levels. In patients who had a raised preoperative serum AFP level ≥ 20 ng/ml, the sensitivities of the AFP tests were 83.1%, 55.1% and 32.6%, respectively, while the specificities were 73.4%, 86.1% and 92.7%, respectively, in detecting recurrence using the three cut-off levels. Conclusions: Serum AFP monitoring, in conjunction with imaging studies, is useful in monitoring recurrent HCC after hepatectomy. For patients with a raised preoperative serum AFP level, a postoperative serum AFP of over 20 ng/ml appears to be the best cut-off level for the detection of HCC recurrence with both satisfactory sensitivity and specificity. For patients with normal preoperative serum AFP levels, the sensitivity of postoperative serum AFP monitoring in the detection of recurrence is low, and hence the role of serum AFP monitoring is limited. Imaging studies are important for this group of patients in surveillance for recurrent HCC. Read More: http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S021983630300024

Corneal Thickness

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Update on photodynamic therapy with verteporfin for macular diseases

Choroidal neovascularization in the macula is a major cause of visual disability in developed countries. Age-related macular degeneration is one of the commonest underlying etiologies for choroidal neovascularization, while other conditions include pathologic myopia, idiopathic, postchoroiditis, iatrogenic, and other causes. There have been no good and safe treatments for choroidal neovascularization at subfoveal areas. Photodynamic therapy with verteporfin has been shown to be effective in reducing the likelihood of visual loss due to choroidal neovascularization in age-related macular degeneration, especially when the lesion has predominantly classic composition. Further evidence indicates the beneficial effects in agerelated macular degeneration with progressive occult choroidal neovascularization of small size and also in subfoveal choroidal neovascularization of pathologic myopia. The indications and applications of photodynamic therapy have been expanding swiftly and this treatment modality may provide a new hope for diseases such as polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy and central serous chorioretinopathy, which are more prevalent in Asian populations.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Conducting Polymer Nanomaterials and Their Applications

A paradigm shift takes place in the fabrication of conducting polymers from bulky features with microsize to ultrafine features with nanometer range. Novel conducting polymer nanomaterials require the potential to control synthetic approaches of conducting polymer on molecular and atomic levels. In this article, the synthetic methodology of conducting polymer has been briefly considered with chemical oxidation polymerization and electrochemical polymerization. The recent achievements in the fabrication of conducting polymer nanomaterials have been extensively reviewed with respect to soft template method, hard template method and template-free method. It also details the morphological spectrum of conducting polymer nanomaterials such as nanoparticle, core-shell nanomaterial, hollow nanosphere, nanofiber/nanorod, nanotube, thin film and nanopattern and nanocomposite. In addition, their applications are discussed under nanometer-sized dimension.This work has been financially supported by the Brain Korea 21 program of the Korean Ministry of Education and the Hyperstructured Organic Materials Research Center supported by Korea Science and Engineering Foundation