We conducted a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study to investigate the effectiveness of P6 acupuncture on postoperative vomiting in children undergoing strabismus surgery. Acupuncture was performed by laser stimulation with a low-level laser. Laser stimulation of P6 was administered 15 min before induction of anaesthesia and 15 min after arriving in the recovery room. In the laser stimulation group, the incidence of vomiting was significantly lower (25%) than that in the placebo group (85%).

In young patients with Marfan syndrome, a computerized image-analyzing technique revealed decreased aortic elastic properties expressed by parameters showing high diagnostic power. A multiple logistic regression model including merely aortic parameters can serve as useful predictor for Marfan syndrome.

Thyroid associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) is a disorder involving the soft tissues and extraocular muscles of the orbit seen mainly in cases of Graves' disease. Although an immunogenic pathogenesis has been proposed, the actual mechanisms of the in vivo retrobulbar involvement are not well defined. The recent introduction of the mInlabeled somatostatin analog, octreotide, which can bind in vivo to the cell membrane of activated lymphocytes expressing somatostatin receptors, has provided a new investigational tool for diseases with a presumed immunological background. Based on this property, octreotide scans can be expected to be positive in cases of immunological disease showing tracer accumulation within affected sites. The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of scintigraphic imaging with octreotide of the retrobulbar space in cases of TAO, including sequential studies of patients undergoing immunosuppressive therapy. We studied a series of 51 patients who had Graves' disease with varying degrees of TAO. Nine patients had received immunosuppressive therapy. The degree of orbital inflammation was classified according to the clinical activity score of Mourits. Both planar and tomographic imaging of the orbit were carried out using 111 MBq of the mIn-labeled octreotide (OctreoScan®) 2 h after tracer injection. A significant tracer accumulation in the retrobulbar space was seen in all 20 patients with a high activity score, in 8 of 16 cases with a negative score, and in 11 of 20 cases with an intermediate Mourits' score. In cases of persistent eye disease in spite of immunosuppressive therapy, the octreotide scan remained positive. Successful therapy either with prednisolone, external radiation, or iv immunoglobulins showed a significant diminution of tracer uptake after finishing the therapeutic regime. Three-dimensional reconstruction of the images also revealed a significant tracer accumulation in the areas of the lacrimal gland, the nasal region, and the pituitary. Controls cases (n = 30) showed no uptake in the orbital region. We conclude that mIn octreotide scintigraphy is an objective method that identifies patients with active inflammatory eye disease, i.e., having significant tracer uptake in the retrobulbar space. This uptake appears to reflect an immunological process, since immunosuppressive therapy will significantly decrease tracer accumulation.

ABSTRACT.Background: To report the structural and refractive outcome after laser photocoagulation for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Methods: Nineteen consecutive patients who had undergone photocoagulation for ROP between 1997 and 2002 at our clinic were examined for this noncomparative, consecutive, interventional, retrospective case series. A total of 37 eyes received either transscleral or transpupillary laser treatment. Data consisted of grade of ROP pre-and postoperatively, birth weight, perioperative and postoperative complications and refraction. Based on indirect ophthalmoscopy, independent observers graded the extent of ROP and determined the postoperative refraction by retinoscopy. Results: A total of 97% of all eyes responded to laser treatment with regression of ROP. Only one eye out of 37 progressed to stage IV B despite photocoagulation and therefore an encircling procedure was performed. After further progression a vitrectomy was carried out. Perioperative complications included haemorrhages in 22% that resorbed spontaneously and cataract formation in one eye (3%). Postoperative refractive errors at mean ages of 23 ± 12 months and 45 ± 14 months were evaluated in 15/19 patients (79%). The spherical equivalents ranged between -8 D and +6 D at the first examination and between -12 D and +7 D at the second examination. In all only 14% of the refracted eyes were myopic. Conclusions: Photocoagulation for ROP in our patients resulted in regression of threshold ROP. In addition, the analyses of the refractive outcomes demonstrated a predominance of hypermetropia in our patients.

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