To compare dry eye tests, meibography, and tear film osmolarity between eyes with and without patching therapy in amblyopic children and evaluate the effects of patching duration on these parameters. Cooperative children aged between 4 and 12 years, with no history of ocular surgical intervention or ocular surface disease, who had been on patch therapy for at least 3 months due to monocular amblyopia, were included. Tear osmolarity was measured first, before any ocular surface manipulation, using the TearLab® Osmolarity System (TearLab Corporation, San Diego, CA, USA). This was followed by tear film break-up time, fluorescein ocular surface staining, Schirmer 1 testing, and upper and lower eyelid meibography. Patients were divided into two groups based on daily patching duration (Group 1: 2–6 h/day, n = 21; Group 2: more than 6 h/day, n = 28). The findings were evaluated comparatively. A total of 98 eyes from 49 patients (22 females, 27 males), with a median age of 7 years (IQR: 5–8; range: 4–12), were included. There was no significant difference in age or gender between the two groups (p = 0.660, p = 0.089 respectively). T-BUT values were similar between the patched and unpatched amblyopic eyes [12 (10–13) vs. 12 (10–14) s; p = 0.129]. Oxford fluorescein staining also showed no significant between-eye difference (p = 1.000). Although osmolarity was higher in the patched eyes, this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.162). There was no difference in median Schirmer values (p = 0.091). Although median osmolarity was higher and Schirmer 1 was lower in Group 2, these differences were not statistically significant (p = 0.396, p = 0.633 respectively). Upper and lower eyelid meibography results were categorized based on the presence or absence of any deterioration (Grade 0: No deterioration; Grades 1–3: Any deterioration). No significant differences were found in upper or lower eyelid meibography findings between the patched and unpatched amblyopic eyes (p = 1.000 and p = 0.210, respectively), or between Group 1 and Group 2 (p = 0.740 and p = 0.737, respectively). Although patching is considered the gold standard for managing amblyopia, its effects on ocular surface homeostasis remain unclear. In this sample, no statistically significant differences were observed in dry eye tests, tear osmolarity, or meibography findings, and no measurable adverse effect on ocular surface parameters was demonstrated. Daily patching duration was also not significantly associated with these parameters. Larger prospective studies are needed to evaluate potential long-term effects.
Childhood eye diseases can significantly affect vision. This may have a negative impact on mental development, academic performance, and quality of life when not detected early. Parents are often the first to notice eye problems in their children. However, awareness of common pediatric eye conditions remains variable. This study aimed to assess parents’ awareness, attitudes, and practices as regards childhood eye diseases in a local community setting. A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among parents of children aged 18 years or younger in a local community setting. A quick response (QR) code was used to distribute a pre-tested questionnaire covering sociodemographic characteristics and knowledge of common pediatric eye diseases. Parents’ perception of pediatric eye diseases and their management was also evaluated. This was performed via a Likert-scale scoring system, and total knowledge scores were classified at the median into two levels, poor and good. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of King Faisal University, and informed consent was obtained from all participants. Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), with chi-square tests and multiple linear regression applied where appropriate. A total of 267 parents were included, of whom 181 (67.8
To assess tear function, retinal and choroidal thickness, retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, and ganglion cell complex (GCC) thickness in patients with lichen planus (LP) compared with healthy controls with comparable age and sex distribution. This prospective case-control study included 35 participants with LP and 35 healthy control participants. Only the right eye of each participant was included in the analysis. Tear function was evaluated using the Schirmer I test and tear break-up time (TBUT). Axial length (AL) was measured using optical biometry, and intraocular pressure (IOP) was measured by pneumotonometry, whereas central retinal thickness (CRT), RNFL thickness, and GCC thickness were assessed using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Choroidal thickness was measured at the subfoveal, nasal 1500 μm, and temporal 1500 μm regions using enhanced depth imaging OCT (EDI-OCT). Intraobserver reliability was evaluated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Patients with LP demonstrated significantly lower Schirmer I test and TBUT values than controls (Schirmer I: 10.34 ± 2.17 mm vs. 18.37 ± 2.35 mm; TBUT: 10.74 ± 1.99 s vs. 13.06 ± 0.64 s; both p < 0.001). The pre-specified primary choroidal outcome, SFCT, was significantly lower in the LP group than in the control group (299.43 ± 30.03 μm vs. 345.40 ± 41.89 μm; p < 0.001). The secondary choroidal outcomes were also lower at the nasal 1500 μm region (272.23 ± 62.36 μm vs. 303.60 ± 42.09 μm; p = 0.041) and temporal 1500 μm region (283.43 ± 66.56 μm vs. 328.20 ± 42.51 μm; p = 0.011). No significant differences were observed in AL, IOP, CRT, RNFL thickness, or GCC thickness between the overall LP and control groups. In the exploratory subgroup analysis, GCC thickness was lower in patients with oral involvement than in those with cutaneous-only LP in the unadjusted comparison; however, this difference did not remain significant after Benjamini–Hochberg false discovery rate correction. No significant correlations were identified between disease duration and ocular parameters. LP may be associated with reduced tear function and lower choroidal thickness, while overall retinal structural parameters were comparable with those of healthy controls. The GCC finding in the oral involvement subgroup should be regarded as exploratory and interpreted cautiously. Larger longitudinal studies incorporating standardized disease activity assessment, dry eye symptom scoring, and advanced vascular imaging are needed to clarify the ocular implications of LP.
Unilateral myopia, though less common than bilateral myopia, presents unique clinical challenges. This study aimed to explore the prevalence and clinical characteristics of children presenting with unilateral myopia. Children presenting with unilateral high myopia at a tertiary care center, with a cycloplegic spherical equivalent (SE) ≤ -5D in one eye and ≥ -3D in the other, between January 2022 and January 2023, were recruited. A comprehensive review of their birth records and ocular examination was undertaken. Ocular biometric parameters, including axial length (AL), keratometry (K), and lens thickness (LT), were measured by IOLMaster 700, and the progress of refractive error since diagnosis was noted. The study analyzed 25 patients with a mean age of 11.9 years (1–12 years) and a mean follow-up of 24.45 ± 2.4 months. Axial myopia was found in 84
Abstract Background To assess the effect of cycloplegia on keratometry and horizontal white to white (WTW) measurements in presbyopic patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods The post-hoc analysis included 88 eyes from 88 patients with type 2 diabetes aged >40 years. Flat keratometry (Kf), steep keratometry (Ks), mean keratometry (Km), corneal astigmatism (CA), and WTW were measured using the RC-5000 auto kerato-refractometer (Tomey Inc., Nagoya, Japan), before and thirty minutes after the instillation of two drops (administered five minutes apart) of either 0.5% (46 patients) or 1% tropicamide (42 patients). Results The mean changes in Kf, Ks, Km, CA, and WTW were − 0.01 ± 0.26 D, -0.05 ± 0.23 D, -0.03 ± 0.19 D, -0.04 ± 0.31 D, and 0.05 ± 0.24 mm, respectively, in the 0.5% tropicamide group. These values were − 0.07 ± 0.28 D, 0.01 ± 0.23 D, -0.03 ± 0.21 D, 0.08 ± 0.29 D, and 0.04 ± 0.15 mm, respectively, in the 1% tropicamide group. The changes following cycloplegia were not statistically significant (P ˃ 0.05). Conclusions Post-cycloplegia keratometry and WTW measurements were comparable to pre-cycloplegia values in presbyopic patients with type 2 diabetes, suggesting that these measurements can be reliably obtained after cycloplegia. Trial registration IRCT.ir, registration number: IRCT20200829048553N1, 2021-05-31. ClinicalTrials.gov, ID: NCT04932213, 2021-06-21.
