1,720,963 research outputs found
Toxoplasmic retinochoroiditis in an Italian referral center
No full textPURPOSE. To evaluate the clinical features of ocular toxoplasmosis (OT).METHODS. Retrospective review of 3080 new patients with uveitis was performed to identify patients with active OT. The main outcome measures were ocular features and ocular complications.RESULTS. Active OT was diagnosed in 88 patients (2.85% of all uveitis), 39 male (44.3%) and 49 female (55.7%), at an average age of 20.4+/-14.6 years, lower than in other types of uveitis (p<0.0001). Acquired OT diagnosis was possible in 4 cases (4.5%), while in the others a differentiation between acquired or congenital OT was impossible. Unilateral OT occurred in 76 patients (86.36%), with lesions located inside the vascular arcade in 64 of them (84.2%). Among bilateral cases (12 patients, 13.63%), at least one lesion was central in 9 (75%). Isolated peripheral lesions were observed in 12 out of 88 patients (13.6%). During an average follow-up of 70+/-73.5 months, OT recurrences appeared in 70 patients (79.54%). Mean interval between diagnosis and first relapse was 43.57+/-48.46 months, while it shortened between subsequent relapses (24.44+/-26.5 months; p=0.001).CONCLUSIONS. Ocular toxoplasmosis is a highly recurrent disease, mainly unilateral, with an average age at onset lower than those observed in other types of uveitis. Time between relapses shortens significantly over time. (Eur J Ophthalmol 2009; 19: 824-30
Cytomegalovirus anterior uveitis: long-term follow-up of immunocompetent patients
No full textBACKGROUND:
We aimed to report on the clinical findings and long-term prognosis of patients with cytomegalovirus (CMV) anterior uveitis.
METHODS:
This was a retrospective observational study on 15 immunocompetent patients with CMV anterior uveitis and a follow-up longer than 24 months (mean: 62.1 ± 28.5 months).
RESULTS:
Uveitis was unilateral and hypertensive in all cases, with acute relapsing having the characteristics of Posner-Schlossman syndrome in nine (60 %) and chronic in nine patients (40 %), three of whom were clinically classified as Fuchs' heterocromic iridocyclitis (20 %). All patients received topical antiviral and corticosteroid therapy, with six patients also receiving systemic therapy with valganciclovir or acyclovir. The mean number of uveitis relapses significantly decreased, before and after anti-CMV therapy, from 0.23 ± 0.17 to 0.03 ± 0.03 (p < 0.001), without significant differences among patients treated with topical therapy alone or combined topical and systemic therapy. Cataracts developed in nine out of 13 patients (69.2 %). A chronic raise in intraocular pressure (IOP) was found in 13 patients (86.6 %), with nine requiring surgery (60 %). At the end of the follow-up, all patients had a quiescent uveitis, with ten of them requiring topical low dose steroid therapy (66.6 %) and combined with systemic acyclovir in four cases. Eight patients (53.3 %) were on antiglaucomatous therapy. The last mean IOP value was 14.9 ± 3.6 mmHg (range 8-21 mmHg), and visual acuity was 0.89 ± 0.21.
CONCLUSIONS:
CMV-associated anterior uveitis has a fairly good long-term visual prognosis. Antiviral therapy can reduce the frequency of relapses, but cataracts and a chronic raise in IOP are frequent complications often requiring a surgical approach
Spectral domain optical coherence tomography imaging of tubercular chorioretinitis and intraretinal granuloma. Intraretinal tuberculosis: a case report
No full textThe aim of this study is to report the clinical and spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) findings in a patient suffering from ulcerative colitis with bilateral tubercular chorioretinitis and intraretinal granuloma regressed with systemic antitubercular therapy (ATT). This study is a case report of a 33-year-old Bangladeshi male with ulcerative colitis treated with oral corticosteroids and azathioprine who was referred to our department with a diagnosis of central serous chorioretinopathy. Serological tests, the Mantoux skin test, complete ophthalmologic examination, ocular fundus photography, fundus fluorescein angiography, and SD-OCT scans were performed. The ophthalmological inflammatory pattern and serological investigations provided an early diagnosis of ocular tuberculosis. Systemic ATT led to significant improvement and resolution of the ocular inflammation. SD-OCT was a useful non-contact imaging technique in the follow-up of tubercular choroiditis. The excellent response to systemic ATT confirmed the clinical diagnosis. This is an unusual case of tubercular chorioretinitis with intraretinal granuloma and is the first such SD-OCT description reported in the ophthalmological literature
Uveitis heralding previously unknown luetic and HIV infection. Syphilitic uveitis in an Italian referral center.
No full textPurpose. This study was conducted to determine the incidence of luetic uveitis in the
last seven years at our uveitis center and to describe the characteristics and the role of
uveitis in the diagnosis of syphilitic infection with or without unknown HIV infection.
Methods. We retrospectively reviewed syphilitic uveitis in patients observed at our center
between 2004 and 2010. The diagnosis was based on the serological evidence for syphilis,
uveitis, exclusion of other etiologies. All patients had HIV testing.
Results. We describe 14 new cases of luetic uveitis: 6 co-infected with previously
unknown HIV-infection had panuveitis, while the most common presentation in HIVnegative
patients was posterior uveitis.
Conclusions. Syphilis has been recognized as reemerging disease. The ocular
inflammation can be the first symptom of syphilis. This study underlines the importance
of a prompt and correct diagnosis of this ocular disease
Ocular Behçet's Disease: Changing Patterns Over Time, Complications and Long-Term Visual Prognosis.
No full textPURPOSE:
To investigate demographic, clinical features and complications of Italian patients with ocular Behçet's disease (BD) over time.
METHODS:
Retrospective study of 385 patients examined from 1968 to 2011, 265 of whom had follow-up ≥ 12 months.
RESULTS:
A significant increase in the proportion of females (p = 0.03) and anterior uveitis (p < 0.001), and a decrease in the complete type of BD in all patients (p = 0.003) and in males (p = 0.002), and in hypopyon (p = 0.024) were observed over time. Optic neuropathy (p < 0.0001), maculopathy (p = 0.002), retinal detachment, and retinal neovascularization (p = 0.02) decreased over time, with no difference between genders, concomitant with an increase in the use of immunosuppressive drugs (p = 0.003). Visual acuity ≤1/10 was detected more often in males than females (p = 0.003).
CONCLUSIONS:
A significant shift in clinical manifestations of BD patients was observed over 44 years. Immunosuppressive therapy succeeded in lowering ocular complications. The incidence of ocular BD is increasing in females, but visual prognosis is still worse in males
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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