Effect of neodymium-yag laser posterior capsulotomy on intraocular pressure

Background: Posterior capsule opacification (PCO) also known as Secondary cataract is the most common complication following cataract surgery. It can occur between few months and many years after implantation of intraocular lenses (IOLs), with incidence figures ranging from <5% to as high as 50%. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of intraocular pressure elevation after Nd: YAG laser posterior capsulotomy for treatment of PCO. Patients and Methods: A prospective non-randomized study that was conducted at Al Zahraa University Hospital. The study included a total of 40 eyes of 31 patients. All patients underwent Nd: YAG laser posterior capsulotomy. Patients were followed up at 4 hours, 1 day, 1 week and 1 month after laser capsulotomy. Nine cases were bilateral, 15 were males (48%) and 16 were females (52%). Results: The majority of patients (90%) showed significant improvement in visual acuity after capsulotomy and about 87.5% of patients had final BCVA of 6/6-6/12, visual acuity after 24 hours was 6/9 in 20 eyes (50%) and 20 eyes (30%) had VA of 6/12. All the 40 patients had visual acuity improvement of 1 or more lines after capsulotomy. No one had further decline in visual acuity after capsulotomy. Conclusion: The present study depicts the Nd: YAG laser capsulotomy as a good, successful treatment of PCO, because it was found to be modern, non-invasive, effective mode of treatment of PCO with lesser complications and it does not require hospitalization

Ocular manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis and complications of hydroxychloroquine treatment

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common autoimmune disease. Ocular manifestations of RAvary and are mainly keratoconjunctivitis sicca, episcleritis, scleritis and keratitis. Antimalarial drugs [hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and chloroquine (CQ)] have been used for the treatment of RA. Objective: The aim of this study was to study the ocular manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis and the complications of the use of hydroxychloroquine in treatment. Patients and methods: A prospective study that was conducted at Al-Zahraa University Hospital. The study included a total of 80 eyes of 40 patients. Patients were divided into two groups: Group (1) 20 RA patients not using HCQ treatment and group (2) 20 RA patients using HCQ treatment. All patients underwent complete ophthalmic examination including SD-OCT. Results: the most ocular manifestations found in patients were keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) 93.8%, scleritis and episcleritis 2.5%, acute anterior uveitis (AAU) and sclerosing keratitis 1.3%. Regarding SD-OCT finding comparing between the two groups, we found signs of early HCQ retinopathy in patients of group 2 in the form of parafoveal and perifoveal thining compared to group 1. Conclusion: RA is associated with many extra-articular manifestations, HCQ and CQ used in treatment of RA have significant efficacy and safety, but with long duration of using can cause retinopathy, and follow up of patients is necessary to detect early retinopathy