Ethnic variation in optic disc size by fundus photography.

PURPOSE: To compare optic disc size among Caucasian, Chinese, African, Filipino and Hispanic subjects recruited from a university-based general ophthalmology clinic. METHODS: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, optic disc size was calculated from fundus photographs. Differences in age, sex and spherical equivalent among the ethnic groups were examined with either Kruskal--Wallis test or Chi-square test. Ethnic differences in optic disc size were evaluated with linear mixed-effects regression models that adjusted for age, sex, spherical equivalent, glaucoma status, lens status and use of both eyes in the same subject. RESULTS: Five hundred and seventy-four eyes of 305 subjects were analyzed. The mean and standard deviation of the optic disc size were 2.16 ± 0.41 mm(2) for Caucasian, 2.30 ± 0.56 mm(2) for Chinese, 2.31 ± 0.41 mm(2) for Filipino, 2.38 ± 0.40 mm(2) for African and 2.40 ± 0.38 mm(2) for Hispanic subjects. Age and spherical equivalent differed among the ethnic groups by Kruskal--Wallis test (p < 0.05). Sex differed among the ethnic groups by Chi-square test (p < 0.05). Ethnic differences in optic disc size were not observed among African, Hispanic, Filipino and Chinese subjects in linear mixed-effects regression analyses (p > 0.05). However, Caucasian differed from the other ethnicities in linear mixed-effects regression analyses (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Optic disc size was significantly smaller in Caucasian compared to the other ethnic groups. Optic disc size differences among non-Caucasian ethnic groups were not significant.

Altitude Sickness in Climbers and Efficacy of NSAIDs Trial (ASCENT): randomized, controlled trial of ibuprofen versus placebo for prevention of altitude illness.

OBJECTIVE: To study the effectiveness of ibuprofen versus placebo in preventing acute mountain sickness (AMS) and high altitude headache (HAH). METHODS: Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. RESULTS: Two hundred ninety-four healthy Western trekkers were recruited on the Everest approach at 4280 m or 4358 m and randomly assigned to receive either 600 mg of ibuprofen or placebo 3 times daily before and during ascent to 4928 m. One hundred eighty-three of 294 participants completed the trial. Of the participants who did not complete the trial, 62 were lost to follow-up and another 49 broke trial protocol. In an intent-to-treat analysis (232 participants), ibuprofen was found to be more effective than placebo in reducing the incidence of AMS (24.4% vs 40.4%; P = .01) and the incidence of HAH (42.3% vs 60.5%; P < .01). Ibuprofen was also superior to placebo in reducing the severity of HAH (4.9% vs 14.7%; P = .01). The end point of oxygen saturation was also higher in the ibuprofen group (80.8 % vs 82.4%; P = .035). For the 183 participants who completed the trial and conformed to the protocol, the incidence of AMS between placebo and treatment groups was not significant (32.9% vs 22.7%; P = .129 for AMS incidence, 9.6% vs 8.2%; P = .74 for AMS severity, 54.8% vs 42.7%; P = .11 for HAH incidence, and 8.2% vs 3.6%; P = .18 for HAH severity). CONCLUSIONS: Ibuprofen was found to be effective in preventing AMS in the intent-to-treat analysis group but not in those who completed the trial. This loss of significance in the subjects who completed the trial may be explained by persons in the placebo group having a higher burden of illness and associated decreased compliance with the protocol. An important limitation of this study may be the possibility that ibuprofen can mask headache, which is a compulsory criterion for the diagnosis of AMS.

Patient satisfaction with integrated HIV and antenatal care services in rural Kenya.

A cluster randomized controlled trial was initiated in Kenya to determine if full integration (FI) of HIV care, including HAART, into antenatal care (ANC) clinics improves health outcomes among HIV-infected women and exposed infants, compared to a non-integrated (NI) model. This article examines ANC clients' satisfaction with and preferences regarding HIV-integrated services. In this cross-sectional study, pregnant women attending five FI clinics (n=185) and four NI clinics (n=141) completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire following an ANC visit. By self-report, 55 women (17%) were HIV(+), 230 (71%) were HIV(-), and 40 (12%) did not know their HIV status. Among HIV-infected women, 79% attending FI clinics were very satisfied with their clinic visit compared to 54% of women attending NI clinics (P=0.044); no such difference was found among HIV-uninfected women. In multivariate analysis, overall satisfaction was also independently associated with satisfaction with administrative staff, satisfaction with health care providers, positive evaluation of wait time, and having encountered a receptionist. Full integration of HIV care into antenatal clinics can significantly increase overall satisfaction with care for HIV-infected women, with no significant decrease in satisfaction for HIV-uninfected women served in the same clinics.

The characteristics of glaucoma in Japanese Americans.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the proportions of glaucoma subtypes and risk factors for glaucoma in a large Japanese American clinic population. METHODS: Medical records of patients of Japanese descent who visited 2 private ophthalmology clinics within the last 10 years were retrospectively reviewed. Glaucoma was diagnosed based on optic nerve findings and presence of visual field defects. Main outcome measures were distribution of glaucoma subtypes, characteristics of different glaucoma subtypes, and comparative results with Japanese American patients without glaucoma. RESULTS: Of 1732 patients, 112 had glaucoma (6.4%). Of these, 17% had high-tension glaucoma (HTG) and 70% had normal-tension glaucoma (NTG). There were 2 patients with primary angle-closure, 3 with mixed-mechanism, and 10 with secondary glaucoma. The presence of glaucoma was positively correlated with age, refractive error, visual acuity in logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution, and intraocular pressure, while there was a negative correlation between central corneal thickness and glaucoma. Controlling for age, intraocular pressure and visual acuity remained significantly correlated with glaucoma. CONCLUSIONS: In this large Japanese American clinic population, the proportion of patients with glaucoma who had NTG was 4-fold higher than those with HTG. A prospective population-based study may be warranted to further define the spectrum of glaucoma and the reason for the high proportion of NTG in this population.

Asteroid hyalosis in an autopsy population: The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) experience.

OBJECTIVES: To study the prevalence and associations of asteroid hyalosis (AH) in a series of autopsy eyes. METHODS: Retrospective review of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) autopsy eye database from 1965 to 2000 yielded 10,801 patients. The patients' medical histories were reviewed for evidence of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, alcohol abuse, hypercalcemia, hypothyroidism, and chronic renal failure. Autopsy records were searched for evidence of optic atrophy, macular degeneration, posterior vitreous detachment, atherosclerosis, and chronic renal failure. Asteroid hyalosis was diagnosed by examination of the autopsy eyes. Univariate and multivariate statistical methods were used to analyze our data. RESULTS: The prevalence of AH was 1.96% in this autopsy population. By chi(2) analysis, AH was significantly correlated with age (P<.001), male sex (P = .006), age-related macular degeneration (P = .02), hypertension (P = .03), atherosclerosis (P<.001), and posterior vitreous attachment (P<.001). After adjusting for age in a multivariate logistic regression analysis, statistical significance was found only for posterior vitreous attachment (P = .002) and male sex (P = .046). No statistically significant association was found with diabetes mellitus or alcohol abuse by univariate or multivariate analysis. Analysis of the odds ratio showed a strong age effect that increased from 5.0 (95% confidence interval, 2.2-11.3) in age group 41 to 50 years, compared with 25.4 (95% Wald confidence interval, 8.2-77.9) in the age group of patients older than 90 years. CONCLUSIONS: A unique epidemiological autopsy cohort study of AH and its systemic associations yielded a higher prevalence of AH than previous studies. Asteroid hyalosis was strongly correlated with age and inversely correlated with posterior vitreous detachment. Unlike some previous reports, we found no statistically significant correlation between AH and diabetes mellitus.