Oltipraz chemoprevention trial in Qidong, Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China.

Oltipraz has been used clinically in many regions of the world as an antischistosomal agent and is an effective inhibitor of aflatoxin hepatocarcinogenesis in rats. This chemopreventive action of oltipraz results primarily from an altered balance in aflatoxin metabolic activation and detoxication. In 1995, a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind intervention was conducted in residents of Qidong, People's Republic of China, who are at high risk for exposure to aflatoxin and development of hepatocellular carcinoma. The major study objectives were to define a dose and schedule for oltipraz that would reduce levels of aflatoxin biomarkers in biofluids of the participants, and to further characterize dose-limiting side effects. Two hundred thirty-four healthy eligible individuals, including those infected with HBV, were randomized to receive either 125 mg oltipraz daily, 500 mg oltipraz weekly, or placebo. Blood and urine specimens were collected to monitor potential toxicities and evaluate biomarkers over the 8-week intervention and subsequent 8-week follow-up periods. Overall, compliance in the intervention was excellent; approximately 85% of the participants completed the study. Objective evaluation of adverse events was greatly facilitated by inclusion of a placebo arm in the study design. A syndrome involving numbness, tingling, and pain in the fingertips was the only event that occurred more frequently among the active groups (18 and 14% of the daily 125 mg and weekly 500 mg arms, respectively) compared to placebo (3%). These symptoms were reversible and could be relieved with non-steroidal antiinflammatory agents. A more complete understanding of the chemopreventive utility of oltipraz awaits completion of an assessment of the efficacy of oltipraz in modulating levels of aflatoxin biomarkers.

Long-term outcome of initial ciliary ablation with contact diode laser transscleral cyclophotocoagulation for severe glaucoma. The Diode Laser Ciliary Ablation Study Group.

PURPOSE: To learn the long-term outcome of ciliary ablation with diode laser contact transscleral cyclophotocoagulation (TSCPC) in eyes with recalcitrant, severe glaucoma. METHODS: Twenty-seven eyes of 27 patients with medically and surgically uncontrollable glaucoma and no previous ciliary ablation enrolled in this study. After baseline measurements and informed consent, the authors performed contact TSCPC. There were 14 pseudophakic, 7 aphakic, and 6 phakic eyes; 15 of these had primary open angle glaucoma and the remainder had various secondary or open- or closed-angle glaucomas. Median follow-up was 19 months (range, 6 weeks to 27 months). Initially after laser surgery, glaucoma medications were continued, except for a 2-week interruption of miotics; the ophthalmologist later adjusted medications in accordance with the patient's status. The authors define failure of TSCPC in two ways, based on IOP measurements during two consecutive study examinations 6 weeks or more after intervention or at the final examination: (1) less than 20% intraocular pressure (IOP) reduction from baseline, and (2) either less than 20% reduction of IOP from baseline or IOP greater than 22 mmHg. RESULTS: For 27 eyes, the baseline IOP (mean +/- standard deviation) was 36.4 +/- 12.4 mmHg (range, 20-70 mmHg). The mean IOP at last examination was 20.3 +/- 8.7 mmHg. With failure definition 1, the cumulative probability of success was 84% at 1 year and 62% at 2 years. With failure definition 2 the cumulative probability of success was 72% at 1 year and 52% at 2 years. At the last examination, 19 eyes (70%) had visual acuity improved within one line of visual acuity at eligibility. One of these eyes, with light perception vision at entry, declined to no light perception. Three eyes (11%) lost two lines of vision and five (19%) lost three or more lines. CONCLUSIONS: Contact diode laser TSCPC yields long-term improvement of IOP and preservation of visual acuity in a substantial proportion of eyes with severe, medically uncontrolled glaucoma.

Infectious endophthalmitis after penetrating injuries with retained intraocular foreign bodies. National Eye Trauma System.

PURPOSE: To determine the risk factors and prognostic indicators of infectious endophthalmitis in eyes with penetrating injury and retained intraocular foreign body. METHODS: From the National Eye Trauma System (NETS) Registry, 492 eyes with intraocular foreign bodies were reviewed for signs of infectious endophthalmitis. RESULTS: Thirty-four eyes (6.9%) with intraocular foreign bodies had evidence of infectious endophthalmitis, and 31 (91.2%) of those eyes had signs of infection at the time of removal of the intraocular foreign body. The majority of eyes with an intraocular foreign body with or without endophthalmitis were in patients between 10 and 39 years of age, but the risk of endophthalmitis developing increased with age, especially in patients 50 years of age or older with delayed primary repair (P = 0.005). Endophthalmitis was more likely to develop in eyes with home or occupational injuries (33/358, 9.2%) than in those with injuries from other settings (1/128, 0.8%; P = 0.001). Infectious endophthalmitis was much less likely to develop in eyes with primary repair within 24 hours of the injury (10/287 = 3.5%) than in eyes with primary repair more than 24 hours after the injury (22/164, 13.4%; P < 0.0001). Bacilli or staphylococci were isolated in 21 (95%) of 22 eyes with positive cultures. Visual prognosis was reasonably good with 15 (58%) of 26 eyes attaining a visual acuity of 20/200 or better. CONCLUSIONS: Removal of a retained intraocular foreign body within 24 hours of injury markedly reduces the risk of infectious endophthalmitis developing. Older persons are at high risk for endophthalmitis developing after retaining an intraocular foreign body when there is delayed surgical repair.

Clinical follow-up of 193-nm ArF excimer laser photokeratectomy.

The excimer laser has been undergoing rapid development for clinical use since the early 1980s. The authors report 2-year follow-up results from studies in 31 eyes (15 women and 14 men) to evaluate the excimer laser in performing photokeratectomy. Patients were divided into two groups: 27 eyes (group 1) underwent phototherapeutic keratectomy, and 4 eyes (group 2) underwent photorefractive keratectomy. Visual function improved in 21 of 27 eyes in group 1 and in 2 of 4 eyes in group 2. Complications were minimal and manageable. The authors describe a procedure to minimize induced hyperopia in phototherapeutic keratectomy patients, and, although not statistically significant, less induced hyperopia was noted in these patients. Photokeratectomy may be an alternative to penetrating or lamellar keratoplasty and more invasive refractive procedures, but the long-term effects must be carefully observed.

Retinal detachment after extracapsular cataract extraction with posterior chamber intraocular lens.

The authors reviewed 3065 consecutive cases of extracapsular cataract extraction with posterior chamber lens implant (ECCE-PC IOL) and found the incidence of retinal detachment to be 1.4% overall (44/3065) and 1.7% in a group of eyes followed for at least 1 year (40/2330). Retrospective analysis of the retinal detachment (RD) group (n = 44) showed the patients to be significantly younger than the overall group (n = 3065) (P less than 0.0001). Comparison with an age-matched group of 302 eyes without RD showed higher rates of RD in males (P = 0.0013) and in eyes with axial eye length (AEL) greater than 25 mm (P less than 0.0001). No significant correlation was found between RD and PC IOL manufacturer, phacoemulsification (PKE), or primary discission. Sixty-four percent of RDs occurred within 1 year of cataract operation. Only 10% occurred more than 2 years later. Visual results in eyes with ultimate anatomic success of RD repair (43 of 44 eyes, averaging 15 months follow-up) are substantially better than previously reported in series with other types of IOLs (96% greater than or equal to 20/40 if the macula was not involved, 75% greater than or equal to 20/40 if the macula was involved).