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Aims The aim of this study is to provide epidemiological data on the incidence, aetiology, management, and visual outcome in traumatic optic neuropathy (TON) in the UK. Methods Patients with TON were identified prospectively by population-based active surveillance through the British Ophthalmic Surveillance Unit over a 2-year period with data obtained from an incident questionnaire and follow-up questionnaire sent to positive reporters. Results Incident and follow-up data were available on 121 and 97 (80%) patients, respectively. The minimum estimated incidence was 1.005 per million. Leading causes included falls (25.6%), road traffic accidents (RTAs) (21.5%), and assaults (20.7%). The median age was 31 years. There were 95 (78.5%) men. Presenting visual acuity (VA) was 6/60 or worse in 85 (70%) patients, with 43 patients (36%) with no perception of light. Associated injuries included 47 (39%) orbital wall fractures, 37 (31%) closed globe injuries, 23 (19%) ocular adnexal injuries, 23 (19%) skull fractures, and 18 (16%) intracranial bleeding. Sixty-five percent (75/116) received no acute treatment and 35% (41/116) received steroids and/or surgery. Of the treated group, 24% (8/ 33) and of the untreated group 20% (11/56) improved three lines or more of VA (P ¼ 0.61). Prompt ophthalmic examination (P ¼ 0.002), orbital fracture (P ¼ 0.046), high Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score (P ¼ 0.023), and poor initial VA (P ¼ 0.009) were associated with increased likelihood of treatment. Poor initial VA (Po0.001), orbital fracture (P ¼ 0.004), and significant head injury (P ¼ 0.038) were associated with poor visual outcome. Conclusions This study suggested that young men were at greatest risk of TON. We detected a trend towards conservative management of this condition in the UK. TON was associated with significant ocular, orbital, and head injuries that highlighted the need for multidisciplinary management.

Summary:We report a retrospective analysis of VZV infection after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in children. Thirty-three (30%) of the total 109 children who were transplanted during a 7 year period developed post-transplant VZV infection. Twenty-four of these 33 (73%) children had VZV infection within 1 year following HSCT. The cumulative incidences of post-transplant VZV infection at 1 and 5 years were 26% and 45%, respectively. The positive and negative predictive values of pretransplant VZV serology in recipients on the development of HZ following HSCT were 39% and 88%, respectively. Pretransplant VZV seropositivity in recipients was the only risk factor for post-transplant herpes zoster (HZ) infection on multivariate analysis. All patients responded to acyclovir. The median duration of VZV infection was 5 days. Three (11%) and one (3%) children with HZ developed visceral dissemination and post-herpetic neuralgia, respectively. No mortality was directly attributed to VZV infection. VZV infection remains a major cause of morbidity in children after HSCT. Further studies are warranted to evaluate the potential use of VZV vaccine in these children. Bone Marrow Transplantation (2000) 25, 167-172. Keywords: haematopoietic stem cell transplantation; herpes zoster; paediatric; varicella-zoster virus Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is a herpes virus that causes chickenpox (CP) as a primary infection and herpes zoster (HZ) when the latent virus is reactivated. It is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. Ten percent of children with leukaemia on maintenance chemotherapy died of VZV infection in the preacyclovir era. 1 Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is now the treatment of choice for some malignant and nonmalignant conditions in children. However, these patients are at high risk of having severe VZV infection because of significant and prolonged immunosuppression in the post-transplant period. The incidence of VZV infec- tion in children following HSCT varied from 23% to 67%. [2][3][4][5][6] Herpes zoster is one of the common late infections in post-transplant patients. The median onset of HZ following HSCT occurred at the fifth month. 7 However, risk factors for post-transplant VZV infection in children are less well defined because there are few reports on this subject. In this study, we review the incidence, risk factors, treatment and clinical outcome of VZV infection in children who underwent HSCT at our centre. Patients and methods Study population and design

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