The geometric mean of Hcy concentration in the blood plasma, vitreous and aqueous of the PDR group was significantly higher than control. The Hcy levels in the blood plasma and vitreous were also significantly associated in both groups. However, the blood plasma and aqueous were significantly associated only in the PDR group.

To assess the intra-observer repeatability and inter-observer reproducibility of central corneal thickness (CCT) measurements of PachPen (Accutome, Inc., Pennsylvania, USA), a hand-held, portable ultrasonic pachymeter when used by an ophthalmic nurse compared to an ophthalmologist. Ophthalmology Clinic, University of Malaya Medical Center In this prospective study, CCT was measured in 184 eyes of 92 healthy subjects, first by a corneal surgeon experienced in ultrasound pachymetry (Observer 1) followed by an ophthalmic nurse new to the procedure (Observer 2). Nine measurements were obtained from each eye by each observer, independently. Measurements were compared between the observers. Coefficients of repeatability and reproducibility were calculated. The Bland-Altman plot was used to assess agreement between observers. Mean age of the study population was 54.3 ± 15.2 years old and consisted of 43.5% male. Mean CCT as measured by Observers 1 and 2 were 528.3 ± 32.9 and 530.7 ± 33.3 µm, respectively. Observer 1 showed higher repeatability of measurements compared to that of Observer 2 (coefficient of repeatability 3.46 vs. 5.55%). The measurements by both observers showed high correlation (0.96) and good agreement (mean difference -2.4 µm; 95% limits of agreement -21.4, 16.7 µm). Coefficient of reproducibility of measurements between observers was 5.08%. Accutome PachPen hand-held ultrasound pachymeters gives excellent intra-observer repeatability and inter-observer reproducibility by personnel of different training grades.

BackgroundTo report the rate of cystoid macular oedema (CMO) as detected by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) after intraoperative complication during phacoemulsification. The secondary objectives include comparing mean macular thickness and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) between those who developed postoperative CMO against those who did not.MethodsThis is a prospective cohort study conducted in a tertiary hospital between July 2009 and June 2010. Serial SD-OCT and BCVA were performed at baseline, 1 week, 6 weeks and 16 weeks postoperatively.ResultsSingle eyes from 47 subjects were analyzed; of these 16 (34%) eyes developed CMO. In the CMO group, mean macular thickness (±SD) increased sharply by 56 μm from 273 ± 24 μm at baseline to 329 ± 31 μm at 16 weeks; whereas in the non-CMO group, macular thickness showed a slight increase of 14 μm from 259 ± 21 μm to 272 ± 20 μm. In the CMO group, mean BCVA (in logarithm of minimum angle of resolution) improved modestly from 0.92 ± 0.66 to 0.66 ± 0.41 at week 16; while in the non-CMO group, mean BCVA improved markedly from 0.98 ± 0.59 to 0.21 ± 0.13. The two groups differed significantly in mean macular thickness (p < 0.001) and mean BCVA (p < 0.001) at 16 weeks.ConclusionAs detection rate of CMO is high, postoperative OCT monitoring for patients with intraoperative complications allows earlier diagnosis and treatment.