Incidence of refractive surprise after phacoemulsification in patients of cataract with primary pterygium.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to find the incidence of refractive surprise in patients of cataract with primary pterygium and compare it with patients of cataract without pterygium after phacoemulsification surgery. METHODS: The present observational study included 30 patients who had cataract with pterygium and 30 patients of cataract without pterygium. A detailed ophthalmic examination was done in all the cases. Horizontal corneal encroachment of pterygium from the limbus was measured. Keratometry and biometric measurements were performed preoperatively to determine the target refraction which was kept between - 0.50D and + 0.50D. The achieved spherical equivalent (SE) and prediction error were calculated postoperatively. A difference of >± 1.00D SE from the targeted postoperative refraction was considered a refractive surprise. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 61 ± 8.32 years. The mean extension of pterygium on the cornea was 2.3 ± 0.91 mm. Refractive surprise was seen in 16.7% of cases of cataract with pterygium and 10% of cases of cataract without pterygium. CONCLUSION: Only cataract surgery can be performed in patient having cataract with primary pterygium of up to 2.3 ± 0.91 mm horizontal corneal length, and the incidence of refractive surprise in these cases is comparable to that in patients of cataract without pterygium.

Incidence and pattern of dry eye after cataract surgery.

PURPOSE: The objectives of the study were to identify the incidence and pattern of dry eye after phacoemulsification and manual small incision cataract surgeries. METHODS: The study consisted of two groups of patients - Group 1 underwent manual small incision cataract surgery (SICS) and Group 2 underwent phacoemulsification. The dry eye-related data was collected preoperatively and at 1 week, 1 month and 3 months postoperatively. Ocular Surface Disease Index questionnaire, tear break-up time (TBUT) and Schirmer test - 1 were used to record the type of dry eye. RESULTS: One hundred eyes of 96 patients, including 35 (36.5%) men and 61 (63.5%) women with the mean age of 63.1 (±8.3) years were studied. Dry eyes were found in 42% eyes (p < 0.001) of patients at 1 week follow-up. Fifteen percent and 9% of the eyes were dry at 1 month and 3 months after surgery, respectively. There were 34 (53.1%) and 8 (22.2%) dry eyes in SICS and phacoemulsification groups, respectively at one week postoperative follow-up which was a statistically significant difference.Majority of eyes (27/42, 64.3%) had mild dryness. There were significant differences in TBUT at 1 week, 1 month and 3 months postoperatively. At 1 week review, the SICS group had mean TUBT of 10.0 (±0.55) sec as compared to 13.9 (±0.70) sec in phacoemulsification group (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Incidence of dry eye is higher in SICS than phacoemulsification due to tear film instability. The clinicians should be conscious about dry eye symptoms and signs in an otherwise healthy eye after cataract surgery.

Investigation of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase C677T and factor V Leiden mutation as a genetic marker for retinal vein occlusion.

PURPOSE: Thromboembolic phenomenon is one of the causes of retinal vein occlusion (RVO) which is in fact a multifactorial disease. Therefore, we aimed to study methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene polymorphism (MTHFR C677T) and factor V Leiden as genetic risk factors of RVO. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 50 (19 males and 31 females) cases of RVO were compared with 50 age- and sex-matched (21 males and 29 females) controls. Complete ocular examination was done for all samples. The diagnosis of RVO was made clinically; however, fundus fluorescein angiography and optical coherence tomography were performed when needed. Serum homocysteine levels were estimated by automatic chemiluminescence analyzer, whereas MTHFR C677T and factor V Leiden mutations were detected by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. RESULTS: The mean age of RVO cases and controls was 54.62 ± 13.92 years and 58.72 ± 11.20 years, respectively. 48.3% of cases and 51.7% of controls were diabetic. 65.3% of cases were hypertensive proving hypertension as a strong risk factor (P = 0.003) of RVO. Serum homocysteine was also found significantly high (P = 0.025) with mean values of 19.98 ± 9.03 µmol/L and 16.98 ± 8.29 µmol/L in cases and controls, respectively. The MTHFR genotype (CT) was found in 83.3% patients of central RVO group and 78.6% cases of branch RVO group that was significantly associated with high serum homocysteine levels. Factor V Leiden mutation was absent in all individuals. CONCLUSION: Hyperhomocysteinemia is an important risk factor for RVO, especially in patients with MTHFR C677T gene polymorphism.

Association of presenile cataract with galactose-1-phosphate uridyl transferase gene mutations.

BACKGROUND: Presenile cataract is commonly idiopathic in origin. However, patients with presenile cataract could have an underlying genetic abnormality of galactose metabolism. We studied the association, if any, between idiopathic presenile cataract and galactose-1 -phosphate uridyl transferase (GALT) gene mutation. METHODS: We selected 50 patients with idiopathic presenile cataract, <45 years of age, and 50 age- and sex-matched controls for the study. Mutations in the GALT gene were determined by polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism. The classical galactosaemia was characterized by Q188R and K285N mutations, whereas Duarte galactosaemia by N314D mutations (Duarte-2: N314D with IVS5-24G >A and Duarte-1: N314D without IVS5- 24G>A). RESULTS: The most common mutation observed was the N314D (Duarte) mutation. The frequencies of classical and N31 4D alleles in patients with presenile cataract (16%) and controls (26%) were not statistically different (p=0.32, OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.20-1.45). Similarly, there was no statistically significant difference in the frequency distribution of Duarte-1 (p=0.77, OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.23-0.24) and Duarte-2 (p=0.44, OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.07-2.03) galactosaemia mutations in patients and controls. CONCLUSION: Duarte galactosaemia, a milder form of the disease, is more common than classical galactosaemia in the Indian population. Duarte galactosaemia is unlikely to be a causative factor in presenile cataract.

Purtscher-like retinopathy in acute alcoholic pancreatitis.

A 23-year-old man with a history of alcoholism presented with vomiting, fever, and sharp epigastric pain radiating to the back and flanks. He was diagnosed as a case of acute alcoholic pancreatitis on the basis of clinical findings and investigations. On the next day of presentation, he developed sudden bilateral visual loss. His best-corrected visual acuity was finger counting at one-foot distance in both eyes. He had diffuse whitening in the circumpapillary area, haloes around the retinal vessels (Purtscher flecken) and intra-retinal hemorrhages on ophthalmoscopic examination. Optical coherence tomography revealed bilateral macular edema. These findings were characteristic of Purtscher-like retinopathy. The patient showed systemic and visual improvement at 8 weeks follow-up after receiving the conventional treatment for acute alcoholic pancreatitis. This case emphasizes the importance of fundus examination by an ophthalmologist in the diagnosis of this rare under-diagnosed entity.

Management of paradoxical response in pediatric tubercular meningitis with methylprednisolone.

Paradoxical response to anti-tubercular drugs remains a diagnostic dilemma. In India where tuberculosis is quite prevalent, paradoxical response to anti-tubercular treatment (ATT) is either misdiagnosed or under-diagnosed. We report two cases of optochiasmatic arachnoiditis due to paradoxical response in children suffering from tuberculous meningitis. Visual acuity was recorded as no light perception in all eyes of both patients while they were taking 4-drug ATT (isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide and ethambutol). However their systemic conditions did not worsen. They were treated with intravenous methylprednisolone for five days followed by systemic corticosteroids on a tapering dose for four weeks along with ATT. This case report highlights the importance of early recognition of this sight-threatening complication and timely, effective treatment to prevent permanent blindness.

Complex limbal choristoma in nevus sebaceous syndrome.

Excision of an epibulbar choristoma followed by amniotic membrane grafting was performed on a 3-month-old baby who presented with nevus sebaceous syndrome. Upon histopathologic examination, the excised mass was seen to be a complex choristoma, a rare ocular tumor. Amniotic membrane transplantation is currently the most acceptable modality of treatment of limbal choristoma, with good cosmetic outcome.