Blended learning for accredited life support courses - A systematic review.

Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness on educational and resource outcomes of blended compared to non-blended learning approaches for participants undertaking accredited life support courses. Methods: This review was conducted in adherence with PRISMA standards. We searched EMBASE.com (including all journals listed in Medline), CINAHL and Cochrane from 1 January 2000 to 6 August 2021. Randomised and non-randomised studies were eligible for inclusion. Study screening, data extraction, risk of bias assessment (using RoB2 and ROBINS-I tools), and certainty of evidence evaluation (using GRADE) were all independently performed in duplicate. The systematic review was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42022274392). Results: From 2,420 studies, we included data from 23 studies covering fourteen basic life support (BLS) with 2,745 participants, eight advanced cardiac life support (ALS) with 33,579 participants, and one Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) with 92 participants. Blended learning is at least as effective as non-blended learning for participant satisfaction, knowledge, skills, and attitudes. There is potential for cost reduction and eventual net profit in using blended learning despite high set up costs. The certainty of evidence was very low due to a high risk of bias and inconsistency. Heterogeneity across studies precluded any meta-analysis. Conclusion: Blended learning is at least as effective as non-blended learning for accredited BLS, ALS, and ATLS courses. Blended learning is associated with significant long term cost savings and thus provides a more efficient method of teaching. Further research is needed to investigate specific delivery methods and the effect of blended learning on other accredited life support courses.

Effect of posterior capsular opacification on visual function in patients with monofocal and multifocal intraocular lenses.

PURPOSE: To compare the effect of posterior capsular opacification (PCO) on visual function in patients with monofocal and multifocal intraocular lenses (IOLs). METHODS: Thirty-three consecutive patients with clinically significant PCO, 24 with monofocal, and nine with multifocal IOLs, were recruited. Patients with concurrent cause of visual loss or pupillary distortion were excluded. LogMAR high- and low-contrast (10%) distance visual acuity (VA), logMAR near VA, Pelli-Robson contrast sensitivity (CS), colour confusion index (CCI), and the presenting symptoms were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the proportions of patient with different PCO grade in the two groups. At presentation, high- and low-contrast distance VA were significantly greater in the multifocal group (0.40 vs 0.20; P=0.04 and 0.34 vs 0.98; P=0.006), whereas near VA, CS, and CCI were not significantly different between the two groups. After capsulotomy, the above visual functions were not significantly different between the two groups. Blurred distance and near vision were the most common presenting symptoms (95.8 and 100% in the monofocal group and 88.9 and 66.7% in the multifocal group). A greater proportion of patients in the monofocal group had blurred near vision (100 vs 66.7%) and, whereas the symptoms in the majority of patients in the monofocal group were moderate to severe, they were mild to moderate in the multifocal group. CONCLUSION: The effect of PCO on visual function in the two groups seems to be comparable, although patients in the multifocal group appear to present with earlier loss of visual function.

Near work, education, family history, and myopia in Greek conscripts.

AIMS: To investigate potential factors associated with the presence of myopia in a cohort of young adult men carrying out their military service in Greece. METHODS: A nested case-control study of 200 conscripts (99 myopes and 101 non-myopes). The cohort consisted of approximately 1000 conscripts in compulsory national service. All cohort members had been screened for refractive errors by Snellen visual acuity measurement at presentation to military service; individuals not achieving visual activity 6/6 underwent noncycloplaegic refraction. The study sample consisted of the first 99 myopic and 101 nonmyopic conscripts who attended the study. In-person interviews of these 200 conscripts were conducted to obtain information on family history, occupation, level of education, near-work activities, and sleeping behaviour. chi(2) and Mann-Whitney tests were used as univariate analysis methods to identify the potential factors associated with the presence of myopia. Multiple logistic regression was used to estimate the adjusted relative risk of myopia. RESULTS: Univariate analysis showed that parental family history (P<0.001), older age (P<0.001), tertiary education (P<0.001), hours of reading per day (P<0.001), hours of computer use per day (P<0.001), and higher social classes (P<0.001) were associated with myopia. Sleeping in artificial or ambient light was not associated with myopia (P=0.75). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that older age (OR=1.25, 95% CI 1.05-1.49), tertiary education (OR=12.67, 95% CI 3.57-44.88) and parental family history (OR=3.39, 95% CI 1.56-7.36) were independently associated with myopia. CONCLUSION: In young Greek conscripts, parental family history, older age, and education level are independently associated with myopia.

Outcome of phacoemulsification in patients with uveitis.

AIMS: To examine the visual outcome and identify risk factors for postoperative uveitis, macular oedema and neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (Nd:YAG) capsulotomy after phacoemulsification and intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in patients with uveitis. METHOD: This is a retrospective review of the medical records of 101 eyes of 101 patients. One eye was randomly selected for inclusion in patients who had bilateral surgery. Patients with juvenile arthritis, keratouveitis and lymphoma-associated uveitis were excluded. RESULTS: At the first postoperative and final visits, visual acuity was significantly better (p<0.001), and 64.4% and 71.3% of patients, respectively, had achieved >or=2 Snellen's lines of visual improvement. The cumulative probability of doubling of the visual angle was 52% over 6 years of follow-up, and this occurred at a higher rate in the presence of preoperative retinal or optic nerve lesions (HR (95% CI) 4.49 (1.41 to 14.29)). Within 3 months after operation, uveitis was more likely to develop in female patients (OR (95% CI) 6.21 (1.41 to 27.43)) and in the presence of significant intraoperative posterior synechiae (OR (95% CI) 8.43 (1.09 to 65.41)); macular oedema was more likely to develop in patients who developed postoperative uveitis (OR (95% CI) 7.45 (1.63 to 34.16)). Nd:YAG capsulotomy occurred at a higher rate in patients aged

Optical coherence tomography of intraocular lens implants and their relationship to the posterior capsule: a pilot study comparing a hydrophobic acrylic to a plate-haptic silicone type.

BACKGROUND: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been used to examine the anterior as well as the posterior segment and can be used to examine the intraocular lens (IOL) and their relationship to the posterior capsule in vivo. OBJECTIVES: To use OCT to examine two of the IOLs and some of the features related to the development of posterior capsular opacification (PCO). METHODS: This is a pilot study of a prospective (n = 12) and a retrospective (n = 14) series of patients who had uneventful phacoemulsification and IOL implantation of either hydrophobic acrylic (Acrysof; Alcon) or plate-haptic (PH) silicone (C11UB; Chiron, Bausch & Lomb) IOLs. The outcome of interest was the ability of OCT to clearly delineate the outline of the IOL optics and their appositional relationship to the posterior capsule. RESULTS: OCT showed that hydrophobic acrylic IOLs had a better defined outline than PH silicone IOLs. It also showed close apposition between hydrophobic acrylic optics and the mid-peripheral part of the posterior capsule and the absence thereof with PH silicone IOLs. CONCLUSIONS: Hydrophobic acrylic implants have better definition on the OCT scans than PH silicone and they develop close apposition to the posterior capsule. The latter feature is consistent with the 'no space, no cell, no PCO' concept and what is known about the effect of the implant material and design on the rate of PCO.

Effect of illumination on visual function after monofocal and multifocal intraocular lens implantation.

PURPOSE: To compare best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and contrast sensitivity (CS) under different levels of illumination in patients who had monofocal and multifocal intraocular lenses (IOLs) and to establish the effect of different lighting conditions on vision in the two groups of patients. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 27 patients who underwent phacoemulsification for age-related cataract and IOL implantation of either monofocal (SI30NB; n=10, 37%) or multifocal (SA40N; n=17, 63%) IOLs. Binocular distance and near BCVA and CS were tested using logMAR and Pelli-Robson charts that were externally illuminated with 20, 200, 400, and 1600 lux, and were compared using repeated-measures analysis of variance. A questionnaire was administered to establish the lighting preference in the two groups and the effect of lighting conditions on their vision. RESULTS: Binocular distance and near BCVA and CS significantly increased with increasing illumination from 20 to 200 lux in the monofocal (mean=0.04 vs -0.07; P=0.006; 0.37 vs 0.26, P=0.002 and 1.47 vs 1.60, P=0.01) as well as in the multifocal group (mean=0.03 vs -0.12, P<0.001; 0.38 vs 0.23, P<0.001 and 1.47 vs 1.61, P=0.002). No significant difference in BCVA or CS was found between the two groups at any of the four illumination levels. Both groups had similar lighting preference, but 43.8% of patients in the multifocal group experienced subjective worsening of their vision in bright outdoor lights. CONCLUSIONS: Distance and near BCVA and CS improve with increasing illumination in patients with monofocal and multifocal IOLs, but remain comparable in the two groups under common levels of indoor illumination. Patients with multifocal IOLs may experience worsening of their vision in bright outdoor lights.