A comparison of Scansys and Sirius tomography in healthy eyes.

PURPOSE: To assess the level of agreement and evaluate the reliability of measurements between two Scheimpflug imaging modalities, Scansys (MediWorks, China) and Sirius (CSO, Italy), in quantifying the anterior segment parameters in healthy eyes. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, the right eyes of 38 healthy participants without any ocular or systemic diseases were examined. A range of anterior segment parameters including anterior and posterior flat and steep keratometry, central corneal thickness (CCT), thinnest corneal thickness (TCT), anterior chamber depth (ACD), anterior chamber angle (ACA), corneal volume, anterior chamber volume, and horizontal white to white diameter, derived from the sagittal curvature maps were measured. To evaluate the reliability of the measurements, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and correlation coefficient were measured. Additionally, Bland-Altman plots were employed to examine the agreement in mean (bias line) and 95% limits of agreement between the two devices. RESULTS: The mean age was 31.5 ± 6.9 (range: 19-47) years. The ICC indicated that the majority of anterior segment parameters had an excellent or good level of reliability, surpassing the threshold of 0.9. Nevertheless, CCT and ACA exhibited a moderate level of reliability, with ICC values of 0.794 and 0.728, respectively. The correlation analysis showed a strong correlation for all the variables tested. The Bland-Altman plots revealed that the bias line was near zero and the 95% limits of agreement were narrow for most variables, except for the anterior flat and steep keratometry, which were found to range from - 0.57 to 0.84 D and - 0.68 to 0.87 D, respectively. CONCLUSION: Scansys and Sirius devices can be effectively used interchangeably for the evaluation of most anterior segment parameters; however, for anterior corneal curvatures, CCT and ACA, their alternative use is not recommended.

Association of Helicobacter pylori infection with coronary artery disease: is Helicobacter pylori a risk factor?

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection is the most common infection in the world and coronary artery disease (CAD) is probably associated with it. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the association between HP infection and CAD in suspected patients referred for coronary angiography. The coronary angiography was performed using Judkins method and patients were assigned to participate in CAD positive (>50% luminal diameter stenosis) and negative groups. The serum HP IgG antibody was checked. RESULTS: Positive and negative CAD groups consisted of 62 and 58 patients, respectively. HP was more prevalent among CAD+ patients, and with increasing the number of coronary arteries with stenosis, the HP seropositivity increased so that 76.3% of patients with multiple vessel diseases (MVD) and 70% of patients with single vessel diseases (SVD) were HP seropositive versus 50% in control group (P = 0.006). Positive CAD was significantly associated with HDL level (P = 0.01) and ESR level (P = 0.006). Also, CAD+ patients had higher CRP levels than controls and it was statistically different between SVD group and controls (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: HP infection is more prevalent in CAD positive patients and, in case of proving causal relationship, it can be considered as a reversible risk factor for CAD.