Ocular side effects of desferal in patients with beta thalassemia

To evaluate the ocular side effects of desferal in beta-thalassemia major patients. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 beta-thalassemia major subjects. All patients underwent complete ophthalmic examination, color vision test, and visual field evaluation. Electroretinography [ERG] was performed for 50 patients. Mean patient age was 14.4 years. Only 9 patients complained from ocular problems including nyctalopia [8 subjects] and permanent visual loss [one case], but eye examination revealed abnormalities in 74 subjects including cataract in 43, fundus abnormality in 9; abnormal visual field in 71 with the most common abnormality being paracentral scotoma [64%], and abnormal color vision in 35 with the most common abnormality being tritanopia [81%]. All patients had abnormal ERG with abnormal amplitude of "a" and "b" waves in scotopic phase. There was no significant correlation between age, duration of desferal usage or serum ferritin with ocular findings. All patients who received more than 40 mg/kg/day of desferal had ocular abnormalities. The main risk factor for ocular finding in desferal users is the dosage- ERG and perimetry are useful for early detection of ocular problems in these patients

Preventive effects of vitamin A and aspirin on UV light-induced retinopathy in an animal model

In order to identify the effects of vitamin A and aspirin on reducing UV light-induced retinopathy, ERG waves were compared before and after UV light exposure in rabbits. 30 rabbits were divided into 3 groups: the first group received vitamin A, 50,000 units I.M., single dose, the second group received aspirin, 50 mg/ Kg/day PO and the third group did not receive any medication. All three groups were exposed to UV light generated by three 30 watt lamps for 14 days. Baseline ERGs were recorded for all rabbits prior to UV light exposure and the second ERG was taken 14 days after exposure. The control group showed a 62.6% decrease in voltage amplitude from the baseline of photopic flicker 30 Hz ERG. This decrease was 28.6% for those who received vitamin A and only 8.8% for those who received aspirin. Regarding photopic single flash ERGs, the decrease in the voltage amplitude for control, vitamin A and aspirin groups was 49.02%, 26.14% and 24.83%, respectively. It was therefore concluded that vitamin A and aspirin have a preventive role on the side effects of UV light in the rabbit eye retina. Further studies are needed to elicit the appropriate dosage of aspirin and vitamin A in preventing the side effects of UV light in the human eye

Bacterial conjunctivitis in Zahedan

The objective of this study was to determine the most common type of pathogen causing conjunctivitis. Out of 495 patients who referred to the Zahedan Eye Clinic from May 11,1991 to October 22,1992,296 cases were diagnosed as nonbacterial conjunctivitis. From the remaining number of cases, two patients had chlamydia and six patients had Candida albicans, while the frequency of bacterial infection was as follows: N. gonorrhoeae 7 patients, Hemophilus aegyptius in 11 patients, Moraxella lacunata in 6 patients, Streptococcus pneumoniae in 57 patients, E. coli in 5 patients, Staphylococcus aureus in 5 patients, Proteus mirabilis in 5 patients, Pseudomonas aeruginosa in 8 patients, Gardnerella voginalis in 4 patients, and providencia species in one patient. Bacterial agents were isolated by Gram staining and culturing, In conclusion our results show that the most common cause of conjunctivitis is nonbacterial, but the most common cause of bacterial conjunctivitis is S pneumoniae. Furthermore, our incidence of chlamydia and N. gonorrhoeae was also more than that in the literature

Megalo-bleb phenomenon

From 1989 to 1991, ninety-six patients [41 females, 55 males] underwent 100 filtering procedures for glaucoma. The minimum follow-up period was 252 days. 68% of the patients had posterior lip sclerectomy and the rest had trabeculectomy. After three weeks, one case from each procedure group developed a large bleb which caused projection of the upper eyelid, vasodilatation and tortuosity of the conjunctival vessels. These two patients complained of a feeling of foreign body in their eyes. The cornea adjacent to the bleb was involved with dellen pit, which did not respond to conventional therapy. The intraocular pressure of the patients was about 10 mmHg and their anterior chambers were very deep. The patients' large blebs were not controlled with pressure patches or with drug therapy [acetazolamide and timolol 0.5%], and we had to aspirate the bleb. In conclusion, this phenomenon can be considered as a "megalo-bleb"

Reversible no light perception in patients with hyphema

One hundred cases of hyphema were studied from 1989-91. Seventy-six% of patients were under 20 years of age. Trauma was the prevalent cause of hyphema [94%]. 42% of the patients had intraocular pressure above 21 mm Hg. Along with hyphema, we observed vitreous hemorrhage [32%], corneal laceration [20%], macular edema [16%], traumatic lens opacity [12%], conjunctival laceration [8%], retinal detachment [RD] [5%], optic atrophy [5%] and scleral laceration [2%]. 62% of patients had a visual acuity between light [LP] and hand motion [HM] and 8% were no light perception [NLP] and had +4 reverse Marcus-Gunn [MG]. Two NLP patients whose intraocular pressure [IOP] could not be controlled with medical treatment underwent anterior chamber washout procedure. As a result of this, they gained visual acuity [VA] of 4/10-6/10 and their reverse MG was resolved. No significant complications such as vitreous hemorrhage or lens opacity were observed. Since hyphema alone can cause NLP and reverse MG, we suppose that all NLP patients with hyphema whose IOP are not under control with full medical treatment can be a candidate for the above mentioned surgical procedure

Follow up of one hundred corneal and scleral ruptures during 1988-1990

In a retrospective study, one hundred corneoscleral laceration [CSL] cases were managed at Zahedan Ophthalmic Center from 1988-1990. Our findings showed that CSL is more commonly seen in young and male patients. Seasonal variation in CSL frequency with higher prevalence in the first half of the years was evident. Also it was found that cataract was more common in comeal lacerations while hyphema was more common in corneoscleral lacerations