Variability exists when measuring corneal ulcers, even among ophthalmologists. Photography and computerized methods for quantifying the ulcer size could reduce variability while remaining accurate and impact quantitative measurement endpoints.
Purpose:
With increasing environmental pollution, the incidence of allergic conjunctivitis is increasing. Newer anti-allergic medications with combined anti-histaminic and mast cell stabilization action can help reducing the use of topical steroids for milder form of disease. There is no study directly comparing olopatadine (0.1%), bepotastine (1.5%), and alcaftadine (0.25%) for mild to moderate allergic conjunctivitis cases. Hence, we decided to methodically study the efficacy of three topical medications.
Methods:
Prospective, observer-masked clinical trial enrolled 45 patients with 15 patients in each of the three groups. Patients with mild to moderate allergic conjunctivitis were sequentially assigned to respective groups, and relief of symptoms and signs were noted upto 1-month follow-up.
Results:
All three topical medications faired almost equally in resolving symptoms of the patients with mild to moderate allergic conjunctivitis, and most of them reported complete relief after 1 week of use of medication. Few cases with limbal or palpebral papillae reported symptomatic relief after use of medication, but the resolution of these signs was not noted in all three groups.
Conclusion:
We concluded similar efficacy of three medications in relieving symptoms and inefficacy in regressing palpebral and limbal papillae in cases of allergic conjunctivitis.
Purpose:
Early diagnosis of keratoconus (KCN) and corneal collagen cross-linking can ensure that best-corrected visual acuity is preserved. We report the sequence of events leading to the diagnosis of KCN, as well as its impact on quality of life.
Methods:
This survey-based study included patients diagnosed with KCN for the first time at our center. Their corneal tomography was analyzed, and they were provided with a proforma and the NEI-VFQ-25 questionnaire and were asked to answer the given set of questions.
Results:
The study included 328 eyes of 164 patients. At the time of diagnosis, 112 (68.3%) patients were not aware of a disease called “keratoconus.” VKC was present in 56 patients, and 92 patients were not aware of the need to avoid eye rubbing. In total, 101 patients gave a history of sleeping more often on the side with worse KCN. The preferred primary point of contact was an optometrist for 45.1% of patients; 51.2% of patients reported never having visited an ophthalmologist. Sixty-four (39%) patients were advised a screening test to rule out KCN before presenting to our center; 42 (71.8%) of these patients did not get it done. Vision-targeted score showed a significant negative correlation with grade of KCN (r value: −0.471) and positive correlation (r value: 0.534) with LogMAR vision.
Conclusion:
KCN is a disease of the young and severely affects the quality of life. Improving awareness of the general public, ensuring timely referral by optometrists, and keeping a high index of suspicion is emphasized.
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