Abstract: Purpose: To see the impact of public awareness programs on prevention of ocular injuries during festivals Study Design: Observational cross-sectional study Place and Duration: Ophthalmology department, DHQ Teaching Hospital, Gujranwala from 1st January 2018 to 31st December 2019 (2 years) Materials and Methods: After IRB approval and informed consent, data of patients suffering from ocular injuries only due to pellets or firecrackers at different festivals in 2018 was obtained. Proper history and examination was done and data was saved. General public education through posters and pamphlets was done regarding prevention of such injuries and data of next year (2019) was obtained, analyzed and compared with that of 2018 through SPSS v.25. Results: Out of a total of 76 patients, 55 (72.3%) presented in 2018 and 21 (27.7%) in 2019. Majority of patients, 48 (87.2%) in 2018 and 17 (80.9%) in 2019 belonged to age groups under 20 years. Pellets caused more injuries, 34 (61.8%) and 12 (57.1%) in 2018 and 2019 respectively than firecrackers, 21 (38.2%) and 9 (42.9%) respectively. In 2018, hyphema was most frequent clinical finding in 14 (25.5%) followed by corneal abrasions in 11 (20.0%) while the order was reversed in 7 (33.3%) and 6 (28.6%) patients respectively in 2019. In 2018, only 10 (18.2%) patients had best corrected visual acuity of counting fingers or worse at presentation while this number was 3 (14.3%) in 2019. Conclusion: Festival injuries contribute to a significant number of preventable eye injuries. With proper educational programs and subsequent preventive measures, incidence of festival injuries can be significantly reduced. Key Words: Festival Injuries, Awareness Programs, Ocular Trauma

ABSTRACT This report depicts the effect of COVID-19 related lockdown on emergency room ophthalmology practice in a tertiary care setup of Punjab. A cross sectional study was designed at department of Ophthalmology, Gujranwala Medical College/ Teaching Hospital from 24th March 2020 to 9th May 2020 (47 days lockdown period). All the patients who presented to eye emergency room during this period are described. The protective strategies adopted by the duty doctors are also described. Total 454 patients presented to eye emergency room, out of which 24 patients underwent emergency surgical procedure. The burden of patients presenting to eye emergency room was less than routine during lock down period. All the duty doctors used N95 (Giko1200F) particulate respirator during patient examination. Problems faced by ophthalmologists while wearing face masks were misting of spectacles, eyepieces of slit-lamp bimicroscope and condensing lenses.  In perspective of keeping population indoor and avoiding unnecessary visit to hospitals the lockdown remained effective.

Purpose: To compare the efficacy of nepafenac 0.3% with nepafenac 0.1% to control postoperative pain and conjunctival redness after cataract surgery. Study Design: Randomized control trial Place and Duration: Ophthalmology Department, DHQ Teaching Hospital, Gujranwala from November 2020 to January 2021. Materials and Methods: A prospective review of 70 patients operated for age-related cataract was done. Patients were divided into two equal groups. Group A patients were given Ilevro eye drops (nepafenac 0.3%) once a day and group B patients were instilled Nevanac eye drops (nepafenac 0.1%) thrice a day. All patients were scored for ocular pain and conjunctival redness on basis of pre-defined scales on one day before surgery and on 1st, 7th and 14th postoperative day. Results from both groups were analyzed and compared using SPSS v 25.0. Results: Out of 70 patients, 35 were put in group A and 35 into group B. Overall 37 (52.8%) patients were male and 33 (47.2%) were female. Patients above 40 years of age were 33 (94.3%) in group A and 35 (100%) in group B. Patients having pain score ≥5 were 30 (85.7%) in group A and 25 (71.4%) in group B on 1st postoperative day, with ≥3 were 1 (2.8%) in group A and 33 (94.2%) in group B at 7th postoperative day and zero on 14th postoperative day. Patients with conjunctival redness ≥2 were 31 (88.6%) in group A and 29 (82.9%) in group B on 1st postoperative day, with ≥1 were 18 (51.3%) in group A and 28 (79.9%) in group B on 7th postoperative day while four (11.4%) in group A and one (2.8%) in group B on 14th postoperative day.   Conclusion: Effect of once daily nepafenac 0.3% on postoperative pain and conjunctival redness was found to be sub-rated against thrice daily nepafenac 0.1% on 1st postoperative day. However, this effect became equal and then slightly superior to that of nepafenac 0.1% on 7th and 14th postoperative days. Key Words: Cataract Surgery, Nepafenac, Postoperative Pain, Conjunctival Redness