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Objective: To determine the quality and extent of sociodemographic reporting in the contemporary Canadian ophthalmology literature., Study Design: Cross-sectional study., Methods: All full-length primary studies involving human participants published in the Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology from January 2020 to December 2022 were included., Results: A total of 669 studies were screened, and 213 studies were eligible for inclusion. Sociodemographic information reported in eligible studies included age (97.18%), sex (88.26%), comorbidities (25.35%), level of education (5.16%), socioeconomic status (2.82%), and occupation (1.14%). Of the relevant studies, 54 (25.35%) included racial or ethnic data. Canadian studies were 1.84 times less likely than studies conducted outside Canada to report race or ethnicity (p = 0.018), but 13 times more likely to report level of education (p < 0.001). Few articles provided information on how racial or ethnic data were collected (12.96%), why the racial or ethnic classification reported in the study was used (5.56%), why race or ethnicity was assessed in the study (24.07%), whether the classification options used were defined by the investigator or the participant (5.56%) or defined the variable race (1.85%). Some studies reported Indigenous participants (18.52%), and no studies with Indigenous participants reported engagement with Indigenous interest holders in the research process., Conclusions: Most studies reported age and sex or gender, while the reporting of other equity-relevant sociodemographic data was low. In particular, the reporting of racial or ethnic data was limited. Improved sociodemographic reporting may help stakeholders better identify and address national disparities in ocular health., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objective: Despite the widespread use of cyanoacrylate glue (CA) as an alternative for wound closure, its potential as a sole skin substitute material in periocular skin surgery remains unexplored. The primary objective was to determine the viability of CA as a sole skin substitute in periocular skin surgery after excision., Design: Single-centre retrospective observational case series., Methods: All patients were treated at the McGill University Health Centre from August 2023 to November 2023, where CA served as the sole skin substitute material after periocular skin excision., Results: Three female and one male patient, with a mean age of 75 years, received treatment with CA after skin excision for both cancerous and benign skin lesions. Specifically, histopathology revealed 2 cases of basal cell carcinoma, 1 case of squamous cell carcinoma in situ, and 2 benign lesions. The skin defects after excision ranged from 4 × 3 mm to 15 × 30 mm. No complications were observed between CA graft insertion and final skin re-epithelization. Complete re-epithelization was achieved in all patients at final follow-up without evidence of excessive skin contraction., Conclusions: This study presents a novel approach by using CA as a skin substitute material in periocular skin excisions. Its liquid form allows for easy application and conforms well to irregular wound surfaces. CA may offer economic advantages, including lower material cost and shorter surgical operating times, compared with traditional skin substitutes. Further research is needed to comprehensively evaluate CA's role as a skin substitute in periocular skin reconstruction., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Program websites play a crucial role in providing information to prospective residency applicants. This research assesses the extent to which Canadian ophthalmology residency programs demonstrate their commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) through their websites and identifies areas for potential improvement., Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of websites affiliated with 15 accredited Canadian ophthalmology residency training programs was performed. A score was assigned based on 16 EDI elements derived from recent literature. The relationship between program website EDI elements with language, geography, and regional population diversity was explored., Results: Of the 15 Canadian ophthalmology residency programs, 12 (80%) met at least 1 of 16 EDI elements, with a mean program score of 2.4 (SD = 1.92). The program that attained the highest score met 7 of 16 EDI elements. Anglophone programs had a higher mean score (2.92; SD = 1.78) when compared with their Francophone counterparts (0.33; SD = 0.58; p = 0.023). No significant difference was found between programs in western, central, and eastern Canada (p = 0.86). The regional minorities proportion associated with each program was not found to influence scores (p = 0.088)., Conclusions: EDI elements were seldom addressed on Canadian ophthalmology residency program affiliated websites. We propose recommendations in 4 domains: showcasing team diversity, clear discourse in recruitment, inclusive resources, and program organization. Improving EDI visibility on program websites through revisions of existing websites or through creation of new promotional websites may foster recruitment of a diverse resident body., (Copyright © 2023 Canadian Ophthalmological Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Topic: Sympathetic ophthalmia (SO) is a rare bilateral granulomatous panuveitis that can present after trauma or intraocular surgery (IOS). The incidence of SO after IOS varies among studies. The purpose of this review was to determine the incidence proportion of SO after IOS., Clinical Relevance: The incidence proportion of SO after IOS can provide physicians and patients with information on the risk of SO during the consent process before surgery., Methods: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases were searched from inception to January 1, 2023 for population-based studies of SO after IOS. Two reviewers independently screened the results. Random-effects meta-analyses calculated incidence proportion. Subgroup analysis assessed SO incidence based on IOS type and technological advancements. Study quality and bias were assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale and the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation framework., Results: The final meta-analyses included 19 studies, with 118 cases of SO occurring after 505 178 inciting events. The estimated overall incidence proportion of SO after IOS was 0.061% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.033%-0.111%; I 2  = 83%), and the estimated incidence rate was 9.24 cases per 100 000 person-years (95% CI, 4.03-21.19; I 2  = 88%). The average study duration across these studies was 10.8 years. Within the reviewed literature, SO after glaucoma and vitreoretinal IOS was studied most, with 9 and 6 studies, respectively. Observed differences in incidence between glaucoma (0.098%; 95% CI, 0.042%-0.232%; I 2  = 40%) and vitreoretinal (0.043%; 95% CI, 0.022%-0.085%; I 2  = 88%) IOS were not statistically significant (P = 0.14). Also, no significant difference was found in the incidence proportion before and after 1975, when modern intraocular surgical techniques emerged (0.060% vs. 0.058%; P = 0.98). The outcome measures showed low-certainty Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation evidence., Discussion: Sympathetic ophthalmia after IOS is rare and might not have changed over the past 5 decades. The estimated incidence proportion of SO may be useful during the consent process before surgery. Also, no significant difference may exist in the incidence of SO between glaucoma and vitreoretinal IOS, based on low-certainty evidence., Financial Disclosure(s): The author(s) have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article., (Copyright © 2024 American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: In Canada, there is a recognized underrepresentation of women in the field of surgery. However, the extent to which this trend applies across various surgical specialties is not well delineated. The aim of this study is to identify existing disparities and trends over time to inform the need for future interventions to make the match process more equitable for applicants., Methods: Data regarding surgical specialty applicants was extracted from the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS)'s 2003 to 2022 reports., Results: A total of 9,488 applicants ranked surgical specialties as their first choice from 2003-2022. Increases in the proportion of women applicants comparing periods 2003-2007 to 2018-2022 were significant for cardiac surgery (22% to 43%, p = 0.03), general surgery (46% to 60%, p<0.001), orthopedic surgery (23% to 35%, p<0.001), urology (23% to 38%, p<0.001), and all aggregated surgical specialties ('all surgery') (45% to 55%, p<0.001). An increase in the proportion of women applicants who matched over the same periods was observed for general surgery (+47% to 60%, p<0.001), orthopedic surgery (24% to 35%, p<0.01), urology (21% to 34%, p<0.001), and all surgery (46% to 54%, p<0.001). From 2003-2022, a lower match rate for women compared to men was observed for otolaryngology (0.60 v 0.69, p = 0.008), urology (0.61 v 0.72, p = 0.003), and all surgery (0.71 v 0.73, p = 0.038), while higher match rates were observed for ophthalmology (0.65 v 0.58, p = 0.04). No statistically significant differences in match rate were observed from 2018-2022., Conclusions: While the proportion of women applicants to surgical specialties in Canada has been increasing, women remain underrepresented in several surgical specialties. This underrepresentation cannot be solely attributed to fewer women applying to these specialties, as women experience lower success rates when matching to specific surgical specialties. Further research is essential to identify and address the underlying causes of these disparities., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Bondok et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: Applicants to ophthalmology have high rates of going unmatched during the CaRMS process, but how this compares to other competitive or surgical specialties remains unclear. Our research aims to examine this phenomenon by identifying trends and comparing match data with other specialties, to identify disparities that may inform the need for future interventions to improve the match process for applicants., Methods: We used a cross-sectional analysis of data provided by CaRMS on the residency match from 2013 to 2022., Results: We obtained data from 608 ophthalmology, 5,153 surgery, and 3,092 top five (most competitive) specialty first choice applicants from 2013-2022. Ophthalmology applicants were more likely to go unmatched (18.9% [120/608]) than applicants to the top five (11.9% [371/3,092]) and surgical (13.5% [702/5,153]) specialties (p<0.001) and were twice as likely to rank no alternate disciplines (31.8%, p < 0.001) over the study period. In the first iteration, when alternate disciplines were ranked, the match rate to alternate disciplines was highest for ophthalmology applicants (0.41, p < 0.001). The majority (57.8%) of unmatched ophthalmology applicants do not participate in the second iteration., Conclusion: Compared to other competitive specialties, first choice ophthalmology applicants were more likely to go unmatched, rank no alternate disciplines, and choose not to participate in the second iteration. Ophthalmology applicant behaviours should be further studied to help explain these study findings., Competing Interests: The authors have no financial or proprietary interest in any materials discussed in this article., (© 2024 Bondok, Bondok, Law, Nathoo, Damji; licensee Synergies Partners.)

Purpose  We examined the gender distribution and academic productivity of North American ophthalmology societies' board members. Methods  Cross-sectional and retrospective study of board members on American and Canadian ophthalmology societies. In December 2022, data was gathered from society webpages, online archives, and the Scopus database for publication information. Results  Of the identified 73 board presidents and 876 other board members, 49 (67.1%) board presidents were men and 24 (32.9%) were women, while 554 (63.2%) other board members were men and 322 (36.8%) were women ( p  = 0.53). Overall, board members who were men had significantly higher median h-indexes (men vs. women: 10 [interquartile range [IQR] = 22] vs. 7 [IQR = 12], p  = 0.03) and median publication numbers (men vs. women: 23 [IQR = 84] vs. 14 [IQR = 52.3], p  = 0.01). However, m-quotients (h-index divided by length of academic career) were not significantly different (men vs. women: 0.46 [IQR = 0.74] vs. 0.50 [IQR = 0.55], p  = 0.67). Overall, a significant increase in the proportion of women board presidents comparing periods 1942 to 1961 and 2002 to 2021 was observed for all societies combined (3.1% [2/65] to 23.6% [210/888], p  < 0.001). Conclusion  The fraction of women on the academic boards in North American ophthalmology societies has increased sevenfold over the past 83 years. The gender composition of ophthalmology society boards is consistent with the gender composition of practicing ophthalmologists in the United States. Women in board or society positions have comparable academic output to men. Existing and new efforts to sustain progress in promoting women's representation and leadership opportunities must continue., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest None declared., (The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ).)

&lt;b&gt;Background and Objective:&lt;/b&gt; Cadmium is a heavy metal that has a wide range of applications in human existence. Cadmium may bind to the protein metallothionein and decrease kidney function once it enters the body. The purpose of this study was to investigate the renal protective activity of TVLE against CdCl&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;-induced renal toxicity in rats. &lt;b&gt;Materials and Methods:&lt;/b&gt; TVLE was prepared and characterized using instrumental analysis and spectral data. Furthermore, the IC&lt;sub&gt;50&lt;/sub&gt; of TVLE against the Vero renal carcinoma cell line was calculated. Adult albino rats were used to assess the renal protective activity of TVLE (150 and 300 mg kg&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt; b.wt.) in CdCl&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;-treated rats. &lt;b&gt;Results:&lt;/b&gt; IC&lt;sub&gt;50 &lt;/sub&gt;of TVLE against Vero cell line equals 148.25 μg mL&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;. The daily oral administration of TVLE at concentrations of 150 and 300 mg kg&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt; b.wt. for 21 days to CdCl&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;-treated rates resulted in a significant improvement in tumour volume and tumour weight, urea, creatinine, uric acid, TNF-α, NOx, TBARs, GSH, CAT, SOD, GPx and VEGF-C gene expression in CdCl&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;-treated rats. Furthermore, TVLE almost normalized these effects in renal histoarchitecture. &lt;b&gt;Conclusion:&lt;/b&gt; The biochemical, histological and MRI examinations of the current study suggested that TVLE have renal protective activity against CdCl&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;-induced renal toxicity in rats.