Andries Stulting

Effect of beta radiation on success of glaucoma drainage surgery in South Africa: randomised controlled trial.

Abstract Objective To evaluate whether β radiation may offer a practical method of improving surgical success for glaucoma drainage surgery in South Africa. Design Double blind, randomised controlled trial. Setting Three public hospitals in South Africa. Participants 450 black Africans with primary glaucoma. Interventions Trabeculectomy with 1000 cGy β radiation or standard trabeculectomy without β radiation (placebo). Main outcome measures Primary outcome measure was surgical failure within 12 months (intraocular pressure > 21 mm Hg while receiving no treatment for ocular hypotension). Secondary outcomes were visual acuity, surgical reintervention for cataract, and intraoperative and postoperative complications. Results 320 people were recruited. β radiation was given to 164; 20 (6%) were not seen again after surgery. One year after surgery the estimated risk of surgical failure was 30% (95% confidence interval 22% to 38%) in the placebo arm compared with 5% (2% to 10%) in the radiation arm. The radiation group experienced a higher incidence of operable cataract (18 participants) than the placebo group (five participants; P = 0.01). At two years the estimated risks with placebo and β radiation were, respectively, 2.8% (0.9% to 8.3%) and 16.7% (10.0% to 27.3%). Conclusion β radiation substantially reduced the risk of surgical failure after glaucoma surgery. Some evidence was, however, found of an increased risk for cataract surgery (a known complication of trabeculectomy) in the β radiation arm during the two years after surgery. Trial registration ISRCTN62430622 [controlled-trials.com].

LOCS III examination at the slit lamp, do settings matter?

PURPOSE To explore whether slit lamp settings may influence measurements made with the LOCS III grading system. METHOD The following were tested using a total of 221 subjects: 1. Test-retest variability (with and without the neutral density filter). 2. Readings with and then without the neutral density filter. 3. Readings with maximum and minimum illumination (filter and rheostat). 4. Examinations with different slit beam width. 5. Light output from 10 slit lamps (Haag-Streit 900BM) was measured using a lightmeter. RESULTS The 95% limits of agreement (test-retest examination) for nuclear opacity (NO), nuclear colour (NC), cortical opacity (C), and posterior subcapsular lens opacity (P) were 0.66, 0.60, 0.62 and 0.39, respectively, using standard settings. Corresponding results with the neutral density filter were similar. Examinations performed with and without the neutral density filter showed that the 95% limits of agreement increased by a factor of at least 1.7 compared with test retest data (NO and NC) and 2.2 for (C and P) (p < 0.001 (f test)). Maximum vs. minimum brightness settings increased variability by a factor of at least 2.1 (NO and NC) and 3 (C and P) (p < 0.001 (f test)). Changing beam width measurements produced a significant systematic measurement bias of 0.3 for NO and 0.4 for NC (P < 0.01 (t test)), a wider beam giving a higher score. Individual slit lamps may vary by a factor of four in their light output levels for apparently identical settings. The range of illumination produced by a slit lamp is 46-fold. CONCLUSIONS For nuclear opacity and nuclear colour measurements, changing settings between examinations increases variability without evidence of systematic bias. However, using a thicker slit beam induced a systematic bias. For cortical and posterior subcapsular lens opacity, varying the illumination had more marked effects on reproducibility without a systematic bias.

Telemedicine techniques can be used to facilitate the conduct of multicentre trials

A multicentre randomized controlled trial was established in Pretoria, Bloemfontein and Edendale in South Africa, and coordinated from London. The purpose of the trial was to determine the efficacy of low-dose beta irradiation of glaucoma. Five communication modalities (telephone, fax, email, videoconferencing and face-to-face meetings) were examined in terms of their benefits in a multicentre trial. The eight stages of the multicentre trial examined were: set-up and training, recruitment, standardization, patient management, data transmission, update and data dissemination, clinical follow-up and monitoring, and publication. On four-point Likert scales for rating the usefulness of the communication modalities at each of the eight stages of the trial (from 0 = not useful to 3 = very useful; maximum score 24) the telephone was given a total score of 10, fax 9, email 13, videoconferencing 15 and face-to-face meetings 9. Telemedicine techniques offer considerable benefits in the coordination of multicentre trials by improving data collection, maintaining the efficacy and monitoring of trials, while potentially offering reduced costs in terms of travel and time. The realtime scrutiny of patient records helps to ensure data uniformity and completeness of data collection. Videoconferencing was most useful when considered as one of several communication tools that can be used to improve the effectiveness of a service or process.

Continuing professional development: Best practices

Continuing professional development (CPD) involves not only educational activities to enhance medical competence in medical knowledge and skills, but also in management, team building, professionalism, interpersonal communication, technology, teaching, and accountability. This paper aims at reviewing best practices to promote effective CPD. Principles and guidelines, as already defined by some professional societies and world organizations, are emphasized as core actions to best enhance an effective lifelong learning after residency. The personal learning plan (PLP) is discussed as the core of a well-structured CPD and we describe how it should be created. Fundamental CPD principles and how they are integrated in the framework of every physicians professional life will be described. The value of systematic and comprehensive CPD documentation and assessment is emphasized. Accreditation requirements and professional relationships with commercial sponsors are discussed.

Rotational conjunctival flap surgery reduces recurrence of pterygium

We aimed to compare the recurrence rate following primary pterygium surgery using two different techniques, i.e. simple conjunctival closure (SCC) and rotational conjunctival flap (RCF). Postoperative discomfort and complications were also investigated in these patients.

The eye in antiquity

Interest in diseases of the eyes (probably rampant in antiquity) is evident in early medical writings from the Middle East; India and China. But real advance in the understanding of ophthalmology only followed on progressive comprehension of the anatomy of the eye during the Greek era (5th and 4th centuries BC). The Hippocratic Corpus contained the first reasonably accurate description of the structure of the eyeball (based on animal dissection) and the prognostic value of eye signs in clinical medicine. Aristotle was probably the first to give a convincing description of the optic nerve. Human dissection, initiated by the Alexandrians in Hellenistic times, established the correct structure of the eye and the course of the optic nerves. The anatomical descriptions of Herophilus in particular, were not improved on for 18 centuries. However, the physiology of vision largely remained a closed book, and the pathology of eye disease was not understood. Consequently, the treatment of abnormalities and illness of the eye remained, haphazard in the main. Eye surgery for trichiasis, abscesses, growths and small tumours of the eyelids were performed, and during the 1st century AD successful couching operations for eye cataracts were described. Demosthenes Philateles, Rufus of Ephesus and Susruta in India made some contributions, and Galen of Pergamon’s consolidation of knowledge remained dogma up to the Renaissance.