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Background: Ocular parameters as axial length (AL), anterior chamber depth (ACD), and lens thickness (LT) are important for refractive and cataract surgeries, and its normal data are important to be identified. Aim: This study was carried out to obtain data about AL, ACD, and LT parameters in normal Libyans. Methods: A cross-sectional study (first of July to end of August, 2021) was done in Benghazi teaching eye hospital on 106 nondiabetic volunteers aged between 17 and 75 years with no ophthalmic disease. Ocular parameters were measured using the Aladdin optical biometer that is a noninvasive machine and without the use of drugs. Descriptive statistics and data analysis were done by using SPSS version 23.0, IBM Corporation. Results: The mean age was 35.36 ±  13.35 years, the mean AL was 23.79 ± 0.91 mm, the mean ACD was 2.96 ± 0.62 mm, and the mean LT was 3.67 ± 0.62 mm. There was no statistically significant difference between these parameters regarding gender or age. Conclusion: This is the first study done on Libyan population to report the AL, ACD, and LT. It showed a comparable result with studies from other populations and that age and gender have no effect on these ocular parameters.

Introduction: Diabetic macular edema (DME) is the most common cause of decreased vision in diabetic retinopathy (DR) and its detection needs equipment and skills. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an objective technique that can measure retinal morphologic characteristic which help improving diagnosis and treatment. Aims: This study was conducted to evaluate the role of OCT macula in the screening for DME in patients with diabetes by comparing it to clinical funduscopy in addition to assessing the relationship between central macular thickness (CMT) as measured by OCT macula and the visual acuity of patient. Settings and Design: A retrospective study was done at Sidi Hussein Health center/Benghazi in the period between 2014 and 2017. Subjects and Methods: The data of 393 (786 eyes) patients with diabetes (type II) were reviewed. Cases characteristics records were extracted in addition to fundus examination records (done by noncontact +90-diopter lens). The records of OCT (CMT) were evaluated for agreement with the subjective fundus examination and in relation to other measures. Data were presented as frequencies and the statistical analyses were performed using Statistical Package for the Social Science (Windows version 17.0; SPSS Inc., USA). Results: Around 537 eyes (82%) of eyes with mild DME as diagnosed by OCT were having no DR when examined subjectively. With OCT, it was found that 555 eyes (85%) with mild DME were having good visual acuity (logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution 0.3 and less). About 10 eyes (71%) having severe DME were having duration of diabetes of 10–20 years. Conclusions: OCT is a noninvasive method that can objectively detect and quantify early DME before it affects the vision of patients and it is strongly recommended that this should be the technique of choice for detecting and screening of DME in Libyan patients.

Macular thickness is key to the treatment and follow-up of patients with various ocular diseases. [1] Nussenblatt et al. claimed that the thickness of macula and not the occurrence of macular edema is correlated with changes in visual acuity. [2] Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a valuable technique that measures retinal thickness quantitatively and provides information helping in the diagnosis, management, and follow-up of patients with retinal diseases. [3][4][5] Many studies reported an association between macular thickness and demographic variations such as different races, gender, and age, which should be taken into consideration when diagnosing macular diseases. [6][7][8][9] However, there is no data for normal macular thickness for the Libyan population. Our report is the first for the measurement of macular thickness in healthy Libyans' eyes. subjECts and mEtHodsThe study was conducted at the Ophthalmology Outpatient Department at Alkeish polyclinic, Benghazi, Libya, between January 1 and December 31, 2018. During the study period, the clinic was serving patients from all around Benghazi city as well as the population from the east and some parts of the south of Libya.This study included 243 healthy eyes of 131 Libyan adults of both genders. The chosen adults were Arab Libyans attending the clinic complaining of dry eye, headache, reading problems, and some volunteering 4 th -year medical students. All the participants underwent complete medical and ophthalmic Objectives: Management of various macular diseases depends on macular thickness which is measured quantitatively by optical coherence tomography. Studies have reported variations in the macular thickness by race and gender. The aim of this study was to determine the normal macular thickness measurements in healthy eyes of Libyans. Subjects and Methods: This study was conducted at the Ophthalmology Outpatient Department at Alkeish polyclinic in the period between January and December 2018. This study included 243 healthy eyes of 131 Libyan adults of both genders who underwent a complete ophthalmic examination including spectral domain optical coherence tomography to measure the macular thickness at the nine areas corresponding to Early Treatment Diabetes Retinopathy Study map (ETDRS). Results:The mean age of the study population was 48.3 ± 16.6 years (ranged between 21 and 79 years), the thickness in the foveola/center point of macula (CPT) was 192 ± 22.4 μm, the central foveal thickness was 230.3 ± 18.3 μm, and the average thickness was 270.1 ± 9.4 μm. Males were having more thickness than females. Conclusions: Foveola's thickness (CPT) in Libyan adults measured by spectral domain optical coherence tomography is thinner than that of previously published studies. Moreover, the central foveal thickness is less than that of many other studies and males have more thickness than females in all the areas of ETDRS map, which indicates that gender must be taken into consideration while interpreting macular retinal thickness data.

Introduction: Trabeculectomy controls the intraocular pressure (IOP) and decreases the progress of open-angle glaucoma; the outcome of such procedure has not been ascertained in Libya. Objective: We report the short-term outcome of trabeculectomy in terms of IOP in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). Settings and Design: The medical records of the trabeculectomy patients previously diagnosed with POAG were reviewed retrospectively. Patients and Methods: Case characteristics were extracted including preoperative IOP and the IOP outcome 6 months postoperatively using Goldmann applanation tonometry. Data were presented as frequencies and mean ± standard deviation. Wilcoxon signed-ranks test was used to analyze the changes in the measurement of IOP after trabeculectomy. Results: Fifty-seven cases had trabeculectomy with a mean age of 51.6 ± 12.2 years. There was a statistically difference (P < 0.0001) in the IOP measurement pre and 6 months post trabeculectomy. 39 patients (68.4%) achieved an IOP of ≤21 mmHg 6 months after surgery without medications. IOP decreased from 33.2 ± 6.5 mmHg before surgery to 18.8 ± 5.8 mmHg after surgery. All the cases with preoperative IOP of 21–30 mmHg had a posttrabeculectomy IOP ≤ 21 mmHg (P < 0.0001). The rate of complications was low; seven eyes (12.3%) developed early postoperative complications that resolved within 2 weeks. Conclusions: This is the first report on trabeculectomy surgery in Libya. The results are encouraging with a low complication rate. This warrants further evaluationsof long term outcomes.