Clinical Outcomes after Use of Fibrin Glue Using a Modified Mini-flap Technique for Pterygium Surgery

PURPOSE: To analyze the long-term clinical outcomes after use of fibrin glue using a modified mini-flap technique for pterygium surgery. METHODS: This study is a retrospective, clinical outcome study of 148 subjects that underwent the modified mini-flap technique with fibrin glue from January 2014 to August 2015. We analyzed the recurrence rate and surgical time of modified mini-flap surgery with fibrin glue. We also analyzed associating factors between the recurrence group and non-recurrence group who underwent the same surgery technique. RESULTS: Mean age was 60.2 ± 1.1 (ranging from 29 to 86) years, and mean surgical time was 11.8 ± 5.8 (ranging from 5 to 36) minutes. The recurrence rate of pterygium patients who underwent the fibrin glue using a modified mini-flap technique was 4.0% (6/148), and the re-operation rate was 0.6% (1/148). From the comparison of associating factors between recurred and non-recurred groups, the recurred group was younger, had more severe disease, and had a higher rate of bilaterality than the non-recurred group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The new approach using fibrin glue with a modified mini-flap technique shows a low recurrence rate compared to the other type of pterygium surgery. The use of fibrin glue shortened operation time and decreased patient discomfort due to fewer remnant sutures. Fibrin glue use in a modified mini-flap technique can be considered as a feasible surgical option for pterygium patients.

Efficacy of Strip Meniscometry for Dry Eye Syndrome Diagnosis

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of strip meniscometry test for dye eye syndrome (DES) by measuring the correlation between strip meniscometry and conventional test measurements. METHODS: All subjects were examined using the Schirmer test, tear breakup time (TBUT) and strip meniscometry using SMTube (Echo Electricity Co., Ltd., Fukushima, Japan). Tear meniscus height (TMH), tear meniscus depth (TMD) and tear meniscus area (TMA) were measured using Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography. The DES group (n = 46 eyes) was compared with the normal group (n = 30 eyes) and correlation was assessed using Spearman's correlation coefficient. RESULTS: Strip meniscometry measurement was significantly correlated with Schirmer score (r = 0.6080, p < 0.01), TBUT (r = 0.5980, p < 0.01), TMH (r = 0.6210, p < 0.01), TMD (r = 0.6080, p < 0.01) and TMA (r = 0.6370, p < 0.01). Strip meniscometry was significantly lower in the DES group (4.58 ± 1.94 mm) than the normal group (7.07 ± 2.61 mm, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Strip meniscometry was significantly correlated with other conventional test measurements for dry eye syndrome. Strip meniscometry is less time consuming and a less invasive method than the Schirmer test. Strip meniscometry could be an efficient tool to evaluate patients with dry eye syndrome in a clinical setting.

Quantitative Nuclear Characteristics of Lung Cancer Cells Using Image Analysis

BACKGROUND: The usefulness of quantitative nuclear image analysis in the classification of lung carcinoma is widely investigated and published. In this study, we tried to measure the nuclear characteristics of primary lung carcinomas by image analysis and to find the possibility of differential diagnoses. METHODS: Seventeen cases of adenocarcinomas (not including bronchioloalveolar carcinoma), seven of bronchioloalveolar carcinomas, eight of large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas, five of small cell carcinamas, and 26 of squamous cell carcinomas were analysed. Three different images of each case were captured by digital camera, and we analyzed the nuclear area, perimeter, circularity, and density using the Optimas 6.5 Image Analyser software package. Statistical analyses were done using the statistical program STATISTICA kernel release 5.5. RESULTS: The mean nuclear area was 0.52+/-0.25micrometer2 in the adenocarcinomas, 0.50+/-1.82micrometer2 in the squamous cell carcinomas, 0.45+/-0.20micrometer2 in the large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas, 0.42+/-0.16micrometer2 in the bronchioloalveolar carcinomas, and 0.31+/-0.12micrometer2 in the small cell carcinamas. The nuclear area was significantly different between the small cell carcinomas and the non-small cell carcinomas (p<0.01) and between the adenocarcinomas and the bronchioloalveolar carcinomas (p=0.02). The mean nuclear perimeter was 3.36+/-0.92micrometer2 in the adenocarcinomas, 3.24+/-0.67micrometer2 in the squamous cell carcinomas, 3.16+/-0.82micrometer2 in the large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas, 3.05+/-0.80micrometer2 in the bronchioloalveolar carcinomas, and 2.54+/-0.62micrometer2 in the small cell carcinamas. The nuclear perimeter was significantly different between the small cell carcinomas and the non-small cell carcinomas (p<0.04). The nuclear circularity showed no statistical difference. Nuclear density was the highest in the squamous cell carcinomas, and the lowest in the small cell carcinomas. The large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas showed the lowest standard deviation in nuclear density. CONCLUSION: The analysis of nuclear characteristics using an image analyser can be used as an objective method in the classification of lung carcinoma.