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Abstract Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD) is considered a contraindication for the implantation of presbyopia-correcting IOLs, without sufficient corroborating evidence. A Retrospective, case–control study. Nineteen eyes of ten patients with grade 2–5 FECD (study group) and 57 healthy eyes of 57 patients (control group) who underwent cataract surgery with implantation of presbyopia-correcting IOLs, at the Ein-Tal Eye Center, Tel Aviv, Israel, were included. The target refraction was emmetropia for both groups. Two subgroups of IOLs were analyzed separately: extended depth of focus (EDOF), (9 eyes of FECD patients and 27 eyes of control patients) and multifocal IOLs (10 eyes of FECD patients and 30 eyes of control patients). Main outcome measures were visual acuity and refraction 6 weeks after the surgery. Secondary outcomes were patient perceptions of visual acuity, spectacle independence, photic phenomena and satisfaction scores, reported in a self-assessment questionnaire. FECD patients in the EDOF IOL subgroup had inferior uncorrected distance visual acuity (P = 0.007) and better uncorrected near visual acuity (P = 0.001) compared to the controls. They had less spectacle independence for the intermediate range (P = 0.01) and overall (P = 0.006). However, they did not have more photic phenomena. In the multifocal IOL subgroup, no significant differences were found between the FECD and the control group in visual acuity for all ranges and in spectacle independence. FECD patients had more photic phenomena than the controls (P = 0.006), but it did not interfere with daily life activities. There was no difference in post-operative mean spherical equivalent, patient reported visual perception, and general satisfaction between FECD and control patients in both groups. Our results suggest that presbyopia-correcting IOLs can be carefully considered in patients with grade 2–5 FECD, with slightly inferior results compared with healthy eyes.

Abstract In this study, we retrospectively evaluated the deviation from the planned axis of 3 Toric intraocular lenses (TIOL). Included in the study 190 eyes, operated by two surgeons using two different manual marking techniques. The patients were implanted with either AcrySof IQ Toric SN6AT (Alcon) (n = 90), POD FT (PhysIOL) (n = 50), or TECNIS Symfony Toric (J&J) (n = 50). At least 1 month postoperatively, the IOL was photographed, and the axis was measured using a designed software. The difference between the planned and actual axis was defined as axis deviation. The effect of IOL type, astigmatism direction, and marking techniques on the average degree and direction of the IOL deviation were evaluated and compared. There was no significant difference in the average deviation between the IOLs (TECNIS Symfony: 4.03° ± 4.34, POD FT: 3.52° ± 3.38, and SN6AT: 4.24° ± 4.10), and its direction (55.8%, 39.0%, and 56.6% clockwise (CW) deviation, respectively). With the rule, astigmatism had significantly more CW deviation compared with against the rule and oblique astigmatism (64.3%, 43.8%, and 41.7%, respectively, P = 0.027), but the average deviation was similar. The marking techniques did not influence the degree or direction of the deviation.

Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to compare the h-index, and subsequently the research productivity, among different ophthalmic subspecialties in the United States. Methods A cohort of over 15,000 academic ophthalmologists residing in the United States (US) was identified out of the physician list of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Of them, 1000 ophthalmologists with at least one publication were randomly retrieved, 100 in each of the following 10 subspecialties: cataract, cornea/external disease, glaucoma, medical retina, neuro-ophthalmology, pediatric ophthalmology, plastic/reconstructive ophthalmology, refractive surgery, retina/vitreous surgery and uveitis. Data collected included: number of published papers, h-index score, annual increase in h-index and the mean number of authors on each paper. Results The mean h-index amongst all subspecialties was 9.87 ± 13.90, and the mean average annual increase in h-index was 0.22 ± 0.21. The mean number of papers published was 37.20 ± 80.08 and the mean number of authors on each paper was 3.39 ± 0.84. Uveitis was the most prolific subspecialty in mean number of papers (74.78 ± 131.37), in mean h-index (16.69 ± 20.00) and in mean annual increase in h-index (0.35 ± 0.28). The least fertile subspecialty with regards to research was cataract with 11.06 ± 27.65 mean number of papers, a mean h-index of 3.89 ± 5.84, and a mean annual increase in h-index of 0.11 ± 0.11. Conclusions This study describes the research productivity in each ophthalmic subspecialty in the US, thus providing information on the research performance of each field and on the expected academic accomplishments within it.

Objectives. To assess the correlation between prednisone and methotrexate (MTX) treatment duration and dosage with the TST induration diameter of the TST reaction among rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Method. We retrospectively analyzed consecutive cases of RA patients who were TNF-i therapy candidates. TST measurements, prednisone and methotrexate dosages, and treatment durations were recorded. A control group was randomly selected from healthy subjects. We compared TST reaction size between the following three groups: RA patients with current prednisone treatment, RA prednisone naïve patients, and healthy individuals. Results. Our study sample comprised 43 RA patients with prednisone treatment, 22 prednisone naïve patients, and 195 healthy subjects. There was no significant difference in mean TST between the groups (5.3±6.6, 7.8±6.2, and 7.6±7.0, respectively, p=0.149). No correlation was noted between TST size and prednisone u-y (r=0.229, p=0.140) or methotrexate u-y in patients with and without prednisone therapy (r=0.219, p=0.158; and r=−0.293, p=0.186, respectively). Conclusions. Our results show that the TST reaction size among RA patients may not be affected by prednisone therapy. In addition, the TST reaction of RA patients may present similarly to that of healthy individuals. Therefore, we suggest that the criterion of a TST reaction of 5 mm to define latent TB infection in our population should be reevaluated.