Evaluation of the Clinical Effect of Intravenous Glutamine on Intensive Care Unit Patients

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical effect of intravenous glutamine administration on patients admitted to the intensive care unit in general hospitals. METHODS: Patients with more than 7 days in an intensive care unit were evaluated. The experimental group was the patients who received intravenous glutamine administration for more than 3 days. The laboratory results, intensive care unit length of stay, hospital length of stay, 30 days mortality, and hospital mortality were evaluated with a comparative group. RESULTS: The mean number of administration days of intravenous glutamine was 10.12±8.93 days, and the average daily dose was 0.33±0.10 g/kg/day. No adequate improvement in the laboratory results of glutamine-treated group was observed. The intensive care unit length of stay (21.16±15.83 vs. 16.48±11.06, P=0.007), hospital length of stay (35.94±30.75 vs. 27.34±19.09, P=0.010), 30 days mortality (20.0% vs. 10.0%, P=0.034), and hospital mortality (26.3% vs. 13.0%, P=0.001) were higher in the glutamine-treated group. CONCLUSION: The use of intravenous glutamine on intensive care unit patients did not improve the clinical effect. Further large-scale multi-center studies will be needed to assess the proper administration of intravenous glutamine on intensive care unit patients.

Comparison of Ocular Aberration and Clinical Outcome between Different Aspheric Intraocular Lenses in Both Eyes

PURPOSE: We compared the ocular aberration and clinical outcome between different aspheric intraocular lenses (IOL) in both eyes. METHODS: This prospective randomized controlled study was comprised of patients with bilateral cataract who received two different aspheric IOLs implanted in both eyes: negatively aspheric Tecnis® ZCB00 and spherically neutral Akreos® MI60. Total and corneal aberrations computed by Wavescan® and Pentacam® were assessed at 6 months to investigate the effects of the IOL's spherical aberration on the eye and to analyze the incidence and degree of posterior capsule opacification. By using spherical aberration of the cornea and the IOLs, values calculated via Ray-tracing software and Wavescan® were compared. Total spherical aberration was analyzed by the MATLAB program and converting the pupil size to 6.0, 4.5, 3.0 mm. RESULTS: A total of 25 patients were included. Regarding pre-operative corneal aberration, ZCB00 group was 0.232 ± 0.119 µm while MI60 group was 0.240 ± 0.117 µm, and there was no difference between the two IOLs. At 6 months after total ocular spherical aberration, MI60 group (pupil size 6.0 mm; 0.296 ± 0.097 µm, 4.5 mm; 0.094 ± 0.032 µm, 3.0 mm; 0.019 ± 0.006 µm) had more positive values than ZCB00 group (pupil size 6.0 mm; 0.051 ± 0.105 µm, 4.5 mm; 0.009 ± 0.034 µm, 3.0 mm; 0.002 ± 0.007 µm) (p < 0.001). When calculated using the ray tracing method, based on the results after surgery, MI60 group's total spherical aberrations were higher than ZCB00 group. However, from 1 month to 6 months after surgery, the uncorrected distance visual acuity, spherical equivalent and posterior capsule opacification showed no differences between the two IOLs. CONCLUSIONS: In eyes with aspheric IOLs with negative spherical aberration, spherical aberration was lower than spherically neutral aspheric IOLs. Regarding postoperative visual acuity, spherical equivalent and posterior capsule opacification, there were no significant differences between the two groups.

A Case of Primary Orbital Peripheral T-cell Lymphoma with Panniculitis-like Features

PURPOSE: To report a case of complete remission of primary orbital peripheral T-cell lymphoma with panniculitis-like features after chemotherapy. CASE SUMMARY: A 57-year-old healthy female presented with periorbital swelling and symptoms of diplopia. The patient was first treated with high-dose systemic corticosteroids, however, symptoms persisted. Therefore, anterior orbitotomy with excisional biopsy was performed for diagnostic purposes. On microscopic examination, the excised mass showed localized dense lymphocyte infiltrates, and cytologic atypia was observed under a high-power field. On immunehistochemical examination, tumor cells were positive for CD3 and CD8 but negative for CD4, CD20 and CD56. Based on histopathological results, primary orbital peripheral T-cell lymphoma with panniculitis-like features was diagnosed. Additionally, molecular pathological testing was positive for Epstein-Barr virus. Subsequently, the patients underwent chemotherapy and complete remission was obtained. CONCLUSIONS: Peripheral T-cell lymphoma often manifests as systemic symptoms, including lymph node enlargement and B symptom. The primary form of the disease in an orbit is very rare, and has a poor prognosis with a high mortality rate because the disease quickly progresses. Herein, the authors report a rare case of a healthy patient without any past medical history who achieved complete remission of a fast-growing primary orbital T-cell lymphoma with no preceding systemic symptoms.

Effects on Ocular Surface and Compliance of Orthokeratology Wear in Adults with Contact Lens Discomfort

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects on the ocular surface and the compliance of overnight orthokeratology lenses wear in normal myopic adults experiencing contact lens discomfort. METHODS: In this study, 28 eyes of 14 subjects were analyzed using overnight orthokeratology (OOK). This prospective study investigated the compliance of OOK wear using questionnaires, spherical equivalents, keratometry, and central corneal thickness. Ocular surface disease index, tear osmolarity, Schirmer's test I, tear film break-up time, and ocular surface staining score were evaluated as ocular surface parameters. Meibomian gland function was evaluated by assessing lid margin abnormality and meiboscore using noncontact meibography. The tests were performed before and 1 and 6 weeks after OOK wear. RESULTS: The mean age of the subjects was 26.67 ± 3.26 years, and the average duration of previous contact lens use was 2.64 ± 2.41 years. The questionnaire results showed that OOK lenses were more comfortable to wear than conventional lenses. Significant changes in spherical equivalents, keratometry, and central corneal thickness were observed at 6 weeks compared with baseline values (all p 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Based on the findings, OOK is a relatively safe modality with good compliance for normal myopic adults experiencing contact lens discomfort.

Sick Sinus Syndrome Following Severe Hyponatremia Associated with Desmopressin Therapy / 대한내과학회지

Desmopressin diacetate arginine vasopressin (DDAVP) is a synthetic analogue of the arginine vasopressin that is widely used in the treatment of diabetes insipidus, nocturnal enuresis, and polyuria. Although it is generally well-tolerated, DDAVP can cause hyponatremia, especially in elderly patients. There are many reports of DDAVP-induced hyponatremia, but there has been only one case report in which sinus node dysfunction was caused by severe hyponatremia. Here we report a case of sick sinus syndrome that occurred during an episode of severe hyponatremia induced by chronic use of desmopressin in a 91-year-old man who had nocturnal enuresis.