The Peterborough scheme for community specialist optometrists in glaucoma: a feasibility study.

PURPOSE: This study assessed the role of specialist optometrists who were working in the community and sharing the care for glaucoma patients with, and under close supervision of, a consultant ophthalmologist working in the Hospital Eye Services (HES) to ensure high-quality standards, safety, and care. METHODS: From February 2005 onwards, the majority of all new glaucoma referrals to our eye department were diverted to our specialist optometrists in glaucoma (SOGs) in their own community practices. Selected patients in the HES setting who were already diagnosed with stable glaucoma were also transferred to the SOGs. The completed clinical finding details of the SOGs, including fundus photographs and Humphrey visual field tests, were scrutinised by the project lead. RESULTS: This study included 1184 new patients seen by specialist optometrists between February 2005 and March 2007. A total of 32% of patients were referred on to the hospital, leaving the remaining 68% patients to be seen for at least their next consultation in the community by the SOGs. The following levels of disagreement were observed between SOGs and the project lead: on cup:disc ratio (11%), visual field interpretation (7%), diagnosis (12%), treatment plan (10%), and outcome (follow-up interval and location) (17%). CONCLUSION: This study indicates that there is potential for a significant increase in the role of primary care optometry in glaucoma management. The study also confirms a need for a significant element of supervision and advice from a glaucoma specialist. The important issue of cost effectiveness is yet to be confirmed.

Posterior scleritis--an unusual presentation of facial pain.

Defining the aetiology of facial pain can be difficult. While acknowledging the principle of 'common things are common', it is prudent to consider all possible causes. We describe a patient with posterior scleritis that presented as facial pain and was cured by oral prednisolone.

Prevalence of primary open angle glaucoma in general ophthalmic practice in the United Kingdom.

AIM: To estimate the predicted prevalence of primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) from the activity of a local ophthalmology department. METHOD: Using clinic audit data, the local incidence and prevalence of POAG in the registered population of two primary care trusts were calculated. RESULTS: The local derived prevalence estimate for POAG was 978 per 100 000 people aged 40-89 years (95% CI 753 to 1272) compared with the expected prevalence from a published model of 1230 people per 100 000 people aged 40-89 years. CONCLUSION: The derived prevalence was not statistically significantly different from that predicted. Based on the published evidence that about half of the POAG cases are undetected, it would have been expected that local audit figures would have yielded figures about 50% lower than the epidemiological model. The main reason for this higher prevalence is thought to be differences in the diagnostic criteria used. This lack of consensus on the case definition for POAG is a deficit, which will hamper future needs assessment.

Prevention of cellulitis after open lacrimal surgery: a prospective study of three methods.

OBJECTIVE: Soft-tissue cellulitis after open lacrimal surgery, almost exclusively caused by infection, is associated with a reduced surgical success rate, inconvenience for the patient, and may predispose to secondary hemorrhage. Although postoperative oral antibiotics have been shown to significantly reduce the infection rate, this investigation was designed to compare this regimen with two other methods for the prevention of postoperative infection. DESIGN: A prospective nonrandomized comparative trial of three methods for prevention of postoperative infection. PARTICIPANTS: Patients, recruited over a 16-month period from the Lacrimal Clinic at Moorfields Eye Hospital, who required primary open dacryocystorhinostomy. METHOD: Two hundred and sixty-five patients were assigned, on the basis of hospital number, to one of three groups: to receive either an intravenous broad-spectrum antibiotic immediately after induction of anesthesia (group 1), intraoperative lavage of the rhinostomy site just after suture of the anterior mucosal flaps (group 2), or a postoperative course of oral antibiotics (group 3). OUTCOME MEASURES: Cellulitis was considered to be present when there was marked tenderness along a swollen and erythematous incision line, evidence of frank pus from the suture line, or late postoperative hemorrhage occurred. Patients were reviewed within a week of surgery. RESULTS: Signs of infective cellulitis occurred in 1 of 127 (0.8%) cases in group 1, 7 of 41 (18%) cases in group 2, and 2 of 127 (1.5%) cases in group 3. Whereas the infection rate in group 2 was significantly greater than that in group 1 (P << 0.001) or group 3 (P<0.001), no significant difference was found between that in groups 1 and 3 (0.75>P>0.5; chi-square test with Yates' correction). CONCLUSION: Compared with intraoperative saline lavage, intraoperative or postoperative broad-spectrum antibiotics have comparable efficacy in the prevention of postoperative soft-tissue cellulitis after open lacrimal surgery. Intraoperative administration of antibiotics has the advantages of compliance and economics.

Prenatal diagnosis of orbital heterotopic brain tissue.

Biopsy of fetal tissues is a relatively new procedure for the diagnosis of congenital malformations. The authors report the first case in which this technique has been applied to an orbital mass, in which heterotopic brain tissue was diagnosed by prenatal biopsy and excised in infancy. The wider implications of such intrauterine procedures are discussed.

Multidisciplinary management of refractory orbital rhabdomyosarcoma.

PURPOSE: Combined chemotherapy and radiation therapy have improved the survival of children with primary orbital rhabdomyosarcoma, but recurrence or persistence of the local orbital tumor still occurs. There are no established guidelines for dealing with these uncommon patients, and the authors present a review of the combined method treatment and outcome of children with refractory primary orbital rhabdomyosarcoma. METHODS: From clinical databases, 67 children with orbital rhabdomyosarcoma were identified. Seven (10%) of the 67 children had tumors refractory to combined chemotherapy and radiation therapy and underwent exenteration or eye-sparing tumor excision. Their clinical course and outcome were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: No patient was lost to follow-up, which ranged from 3.2 to 11 years. Five (71%) of the seven children with refractory tumor are still alive at more than 3 years after surgery (3.2-11 years; mean, 6.9). In one of the two children who died, tumor extended beyond the operative margins at exenteration, and the other child died with regional metastasis within a month of exenteration. CONCLUSIONS: Although more than 90% of children with orbital rhabdomyosarcoma respond to combined therapy by pediatric oncologists and radiotherapists, local orbital (salvage) surgery by ophthalmologists may be of value in the minority of children with refractory tumors. All of the five surviving children appear to be disease free.

Complications of fascia lata harvesting for ptosis surgery.

AIMS/BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess the morbidity associated with harvesting autogenous fascia lata for brow suspension ptosis surgery. METHODS: A retrospective study by postal questionnaire of 24 consecutive patients. RESULTS: Early postoperative problems with pain on walking (67%), limping (38%), and wound pain (57%) occurred mostly for less than 1 week. The final cosmetic appearance of the scar caused minor concern in 38% of patients. CONCLUSION: Fascia lata is the preferred material for permanent ptosis correction when a brow suspension is required. Most of the patients, following fascia lata harvest, experienced some symptoms of leg pain and limping for less than 1 week. The only long term problem was the scar. 38% of patients found the final cosmetic appearance caused minor concern.

Orbital disease in herpes zoster ophthalmicus.

Three cases of orbital inflammatory disease caused by herpes zoster are described. This extremely rare complication occurred between 5 days and 14 days following the skin eruption and slowly resolved with or without treatment. Biopsy of a chronic inflammatory lesion on the cheek of one patient demonstrated a sterile vasculitis and granulomatous liponecrosis, a process which may underlie the orbital disease in these patients.

Visual outcome of childhood anterior perforating eye injuries: prognostic indicators.

Ninety-six cases of anterior globe perforation in children less than 16 years old, requiring surgical repair, were reviewed. Seventy-three patients were male and 23 female, with a mean age of 9 years 4 months. Perforation involving just the cornea was associated with a good visual prognosis unless: it involved the visual axis, resulting in corneal scarring and/or significant astigmatism (> 3.0 DS); it involved greater than one-quarter of corneal diameter; or there was non-compliance with spectacles/patching in patients younger than 8 years old. Injuries involving the lens in those younger than 8 years were associated with a far worse prognosis due to the problems of correcting aphakia. Surgical delay and method of injury did not affect prognosis. Some patients fail to re-attend and greater patient/parent education prior to discharge is recommended.