No abstract

Purpose To investigate the prevalence of glaucoma and coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with cataract and pseudoexfoliation (PEX) syndrome. Methods Cross-sectional study of 2140 consecutive patients with cataract admitted at the University Hospital of Patras, Greece, for cataract surgery. Only patients with senile cataract were included in this study. All patients underwent a complete ophthalmological examination that included slit-lamp evaluation with dilated pupil for PEX material in the anterior segment, intraocular pressure (IOP) measurements, and optic disc cup examination. They also underwent an evaluation for CAD by a cardiologist. CAD was considered present if a patient had a history of myocardial infarction, or ischaemia, or abnormal coronary angiography. The patients were classified into two groups: the PEX and the non-PEX group. Results One thousand and eighty-eight (50.8%) patients were men and 1052 (49.2%) were women. The overall prevalence of PEX syndrome was found to be 27.9% and it was found to increase with progressing age. Bilateral PEX was more frequent than unilateral PEX, with the percentage of bilateral PEX raising with progressing age. A total of 132 patients (22.1%) in the PEX group exhibited glaucoma, while in the non-PEX group only 2.5% suffered glaucoma. PEX was also found to be positively associated with the risk for CAD among subjects 50 years or older.No association between CAD and glaucoma was found. Conclusions PEX syndrome constitutes a major glaucoma risk factor and a CAD risk factor. Patients with PEX should be informed and examined frequently as the risk is present throughout.

Trauma is an important cause of ocular morbidity in Greece. Risk factors include young age, male gender, Albanian ethnic background, and workplace. General safety precautions and behavior modification are indicated.

We investigated the time-dependent ocular surface bacterial colonisation of sedated patients hospitalised in an intensive care unit and aimed to evaluate whether proper topical antibiotic prophylaxis could prohibit corneal infection. The study lasted 12 months and included 134 patients undergoing sedation and mechanical respiratory support for various medical reasons. Patients hospitalised for less than seven days and those with pre-existing ocular surface pathology were excluded. All patients were examined on admission by inspecting the cornea for erosions. Follow-up examinations were performed each subsequent day. Cultures were also obtained from the conjunctival sac of both eyes on admission and every seventh day until the end of sedation. Standard laboratory techniques were used for isolation, identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing of bacteria. Antibiotic treatment for prophylaxis was administered accordingly. Analysis was carried out for 70 patients. Duration of sedation ranged from seven to 122 days. Fifty-four (77%) patients were colonised by at least one bacterial species other than normal flora within seven to 42 days. Multiple bacteria were isolated from 28 patients undergoing prolonged sedation. Prevalent isolates were Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter spp. and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Infectious keratitis was prohibited in all cases. Ocular surface of long-term sedated patients was found to be colonised by various bacterial species and their isolation was closely associated with the time period of hospitalisation. The results of this study suggest that the early identification of ocular surface bacteria colonisation and the administration of topical antibiotics for prophylaxis can prohibit corneal infection in these patients.