Temporal arteritis (TA), or giant cell arteritis, is a systemic autoimmune vasculitis affecting patients over 50 years of age. It can cause rapid, irreversible bilateral vision loss in older adults and is therefore considered an ophthalmological emergency. Many of the symptoms and signs of TA can be vague, non‐specific and gradual in onset, often leading to a delayed or inaccurate diagnosis. As such, it is important for a wide variety of primary optometrists and health practitioners to maintain a robust understanding of the clinical presentation, key investigations and time‐sensitive management of this disease, as early initiation of treatment for TA can be vision‐ and life‐saving.

Background. This study evaluated the effectiveness of managing posterior blepharitis (PB) using a novel Posterior Blepharitis Management Protocol (PBMP). Design. Prospective, consecutive case series with 100% followup to one month. Participants. 27 patients (54 eyes) with PB from an Ophthalmology practice in Sydney, Australia. Methods. Each patient's PB was assessed by grading the nature and expressibility of the central lower lid tarsal gland secretions on Compression Of The Eyelid (COTE). Patients were then instructed in detail to undertake daily PB management sessions at home using our modified PBMP. Main Outcome Measures. On a subjective scale, patients compared their symptoms at one month with baseline. COTE scores were reevaluated to assess the objective effectiveness of each individual's PBMP. COTE scoring was described as grades 1 (clear oil), 2 (pus, liquid), 3 (toothpaste-like secretions), and 4 (complete tarsal gland obstruction). Results. Patients reported a mean 77.8% ± 13.5% subjective improvement in symptoms. There was a trend towards improvement in COTE grading at one month compared with baseline: grades 1 (0 to 7.4%), 2a (22.2 to 16.6%), 2b (7.4 to 3.7%), 3 (18.5 to 27.7%), and 4 (51.8 to 44%). Conclusions. PBMP provided a rapid, inexpensive, simple, effective, and safe method of treating PB.

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Bipolar hemiarthroplasty (BHA) is one of the common procedures done for the treatment of femur neck fracture. One of the frequently encountered complication with this surgery is erosion of the acetabular cartilage. This study was conducted to investigate acetabular erosion after BHA according to the difference in diameter between femoral head and implanted cup at minimum 10-year follow-up.We retrospectively reviewed 117 patients (117 hips) undergoing BHA with fracture of neck of the femur. Their mean age was 77.8 years (range, 65–96 years) and male: female ratio was 32:85. Patients were divided into 3 groups; Group A – bipolar cup size > actual head size, Group B – cup size < head size, Group C – cup size = head size. The degree of both superior and medial acetabular cartilage erosion was identified and calculated on postoperative radiographs using line of acetabular margin and Kohler line.The mean superior and medial acetabular erosion were 1.62 ± 1.6 mm (range, 0–4.4) and 4.15 ± 2.7 mm (range, 0–8.2) in Group A, 1.30 ± 1.3 mm (range, 0–3.8) and 4.11 ± 2.7 mm (range, 0–7.8) in Group B, and 0.90 ± 1.1 mm (range, 0–2.6) and 3.16 ± 2.9 mm (range, 0–7.9) in Group C (P = .039 and P = .187, respectively). The superior acetabular erosion showed significant difference between the 3 groups. During mean follow-up period of 12.3 years, 5 patients (5/117, 4.3%) underwent conversion to total hip arthroplasty due to superior acetabular erosion. All of 3 patient underwent BHA with a larger bipolar cup than the actual femoral head.A lager sized cup accelerated superior cartilage erosion of acetabulum after BHA. An optimal cup size should be considered when undergoing BHA in elderly patients.

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