Osteoporosis-related vertebral fractures in postmenopausal women: prevalence in a Saudi Arabian sample

The study aimed to determine hospital-based prevalence of vertebral fractures in postmenopausal Saudi Arabian women. Chest radiographs from consecutive Saudi women over the age of 50 years visiting the emergency room at King Fahd Hospital of the University were evaluated. Of 785 radiographs analysed 159 [20.3%] patients had 198 vertebral fractures. The mean age of the women was 65.7 [SD 8.5] years. In only 37.8% of the radiographs with fractures was a vertebral fracture highlighted in the radiologist's report, and only 13.2% of the women with vertebral fractures were on antiresorptive therapy for osteoporosis

Uveitic macular edema: Quantitative assessment using optical coherence tomography and correlation with visual acuity

To evaluate the correlation between improvement in visual acuity [VA] and the reduction in central macular thickness [CMT] after treatment in uveitic macular edema. Twenty-nine eyes of 19 consecutive patients were studied prospectively. Inclusion criteria were: [1] verification of macular edema by optical coherence tomography [OCT], [2] adequate media clarity for fundus visualization, and [3] absence of coexisting ocular disease limiting visual potential. All patients had the following ophthalmic examination: best-corrected Snellen VA, slit-lamp examination, indirect ophthalmoscopy, fundus biomicroscopy, OCT, and fluorescein angiography. There were 11 males and 8 females with a mean age of 40.58 +/- 9.5 years [range, 22 to 54 years]. Eleven patients had presumed intraocular tuberculosis, four had BehAet's disease, three had pars planitis, and one had ankylosing spondylitis. At baseline, the mean logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution [logMAR] V.A. was 0.6841 +/- 0.5186 [Snellen equivalent, 20/100], and mean CMT was 419.5 +/- 105.9 mm. All patients received adequate immunosuppressive treatment and patients with presumed intraocular tuberculosis received in addition antituberculous therapy. After a mean follow-up period of 4.3 +/- 2.8 months, the mean logMAR VA was 0.231 +/- 0.178 [Snellen equivalent, 20/30] and the mean CMT was 250.9 +/- 41.9 mm. The improvement in VA and the reduction of CMT were significant [p <0.0001 for both comparisons]. OCT is useful in monitoring the efficacy of treatment in patients with uveitic macular edema