Recovery of ocular motor cranial nerve palsy after herpes zoster ophthalmicus.

OBJECTIVE: To report the course of ocular motor cranial nerve palsy due to herpes zoster. METHODS: A retrospective chart review identified patients with ocular motor cranial nerve palsy occurring at the time of herpes zoster ophthalmicus. Patients were seen by a single neuro-ophthalmologist from 1994 to 2012. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients were identified; 3 were excluded because of incomplete follow-up. Nine (50%) had complete recovery and 8 (44%) had partial recovery but no diplopia in primary gaze (mean time = 10 weeks). One patient with complete ophthalmoplegia had persistent diplopia in primary position for recovery. CONCLUSION: Ophthalmoplegia secondary to herpes zoster ophthalmicus has good long-term prognosis for recovery.

Reliability of grading retinal hemorrhages in abusive head trauma.

PURPOSE: To study the intra- and inter-observer reliability of pediatric ophthalmologists in grading retinal hemorrhages in abusive head trauma. METHODS: Pediatric ophthalmologists attending the 2009 annual meeting of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus participated in an onsite survey. The participants were required to compare a collection of fundus photographs of patients with abusive head trauma to two standardized photographs, A and B. Participants graded photographs as normal (no retinal hemorrhages), better than A but not normal, same as A, between A and B, same as B, or worse than B. The survey was divided into four parts: part 1 consisted of 20 photographs to be graded; part 2 was a questionnaire about participant's professional experience; part 3 consisted of 20 photographs to be graded (including 15 graded in part 1 but reordered); and part 4 asked about the criteria used to grade the photographs. RESULTS: Of the 95 participants, 92 (97%) were licensed physicians with a mean of 14 years in practice. The intra-rater reliability was found to be high, with overall average of 85% pre- and post-agreement on the common pictures. Kendall's coefficient of concordance was used as the statistical measure of inter-rater reliability and had a high value (0.82). CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric ophthalmologists showed high intra- and inter-observer reliability in grading retinal hemorrhages in abusive head trauma.

Atypical persistence of tunica vasculosa lentis.

The authors report an unusual case of persistent tunica vasculosa lentis in a patient with minimal retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). A 3-month-old male infant who had been born at 31 weeks' gestation presented with a significant amount of persistent tunica vasculosa lentis and arteriolar tortuosity with minimal ROP and no plus disease. After weekly observation and no surgical intervention, the arteriolar tortuosity lessened but the tunica vasculosa lentis persisted. Persistent tunica vasculosa lentis can be mistaken for iris vascular engorgement, suggesting plus disease and high-risk prethreshold ROP. Differentiation between tunica vasculosa lentis and iris vascular engorgement, as well as correct diagnosis of plus disease, is critical when considering laser treatment for high-risk prethreshold ROP.

Eikenella corrodens as a causative agent for neonatal conjunctivitis.

Ophthalmia neonatorum is the most common eye infection in the first month of life. The etiologies have been attributed to chemical, bacterial, and viral agents. Neonatal bacterial conjunctivitis is caused by many species of bacteria, the most important being Neisseria gonorrhoea and Chlamydia trachomatis. Eikenella corrodens is a Gram-negative bacillus. It is a fastidious, slow growing, facultative anaerobic bacterium that may be found as the normal flora of the human mouth, nasopharynx, gut, and genitourinary tract. Its role in causing infections in humans has been recognized in the last 2 decades with an increasing role in head and neck infections. In this report, we present present a case of neonatal conjunctivitis caused by E. corrodens.

Sudden-onset blindness in sickle cell disease due to retinal artery occlusion.

Central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) is a rare and potentially devastating cause of acute blindness in sickle cell disease (SCD) that is unique compared to classic sickle retinopathy. Few details related to this complication in SCD are known, including its risk factors, pathogenesis, presentation, treatment and outcomes. We present three patients with SCD and retinal artery occlusion. The overall variability in clinical presentation, treatment and prognosis reported in the literature underscores the need for a greater understanding of these factors as they relate to this complication in SCD.

Neisseria meningitidis endogenous endophthalmitis presenting as anterior uveitis.

This article describes an unusual case of meningococcal endogenous endophthalmitis presenting as anterior uveitis. This case re-emphasizes the importance of early diagnosis of endogenous endophthalmitis, which can lead to good visual recovery.

Retinitis pigmentosa and congenital toxoplasmosis: a rare coexistence.

We describe a previously unreported co-existence of retinitis pigmentosa and congenital toxoplasmosis. An eight year old male presented to our center with complaints of decreased night vision. Fundus evaluations in both the eyes demonstrated features typical of retinitis pigmentosa. There were well-defined punched out healed chorio-retinal scars suggestive of congenital toxoplasmosis. On the basis of history, clinical findings and reduction of a and b wave amplitudes on scotopic and photopic electroretinograph, a diagnosis of retinitis pigmentosa with congenital toxoplasmosis was made. Retinitis pigmentosa may co-exist with congenital toxoplasmosis that may affect the patient's overall ocular morbidity and visual acuity.

Nasal endoscopy in congenital dacryocystitis.

PURPOSE: Controversy exists regarding the relationship between nasal pathology and congenital dacryocystitis. The recent advent of nasal endoscopes has greatly improved visualization of deep and hidden areas of nasal anatomy and has led to the elaboration of nasal anatomical variants and pathologies that were previously unknown. The current study aimed to evaluate for associations, if any, between anatomical abnormalities or variations in the lateral nasal wall and the presence and resolution of congenital dacryocystitis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Phase I was a case-control study that compared the incidence of a predefined set of nasal endoscopic variations in infants with congenital dacryocystitis versus normal infants. Phase II was a cohort study that evaluated the impact of nasal endoscopic variations on the effectiveness of conservative treatment for congenital dacryocystitis. "Failure" to respond to conservative treatment measures was defined as the persistence of symptoms at the first birthday. RESULTS: Inferior turbinate hypertrophy and inferior meatal narrowing were significantly more frequent in the case group than in the control group. Conservative treatment measures resulted in 70 of 83 resolved cases on subsequent follow-up. The occurrence of inferior turbinate hypertrophy or inferior meatal narrowing at final examination was associated with non-resolution. The relative risk of non-resolution with inferior turbinate hypertrophy or inferior meatal narrowing was 7.7 (confidence interval, 2.32 to 25.72) and 12 (confidence interval, 3.7 to 39.2), respectively. CONCLUSION: Inferior turbinate hypertrophy and inferior meatal narrowing are more frequent in cases of congenital dacryocystitis. They are predictive of a poor outcome when congenital dacryocystitis is treated with conservative measures. This information should be considered when making clinical decisions for patients with congenital dacryocystitis.

Recurrent Salzmann's nodular degeneration: report of two cases and review of literature.

Recurrence of Salzmann's nodular degeneration following corneal transplantation is uncommon. The earlier reports of recurrence of Salzmann's degeneration were based on clinical evidence. We report two histopathologically proven cases of recurrence of Salzmann's nodular degeneration following keratoplasty; one recurring after lamellar keratoplasty and the other following penetrating keratoplasty. Two male patients (40 yrs and 24 yrs) presented to us with a clinical picture of Salzmann's nodular degeneration. One patient had undergone lamellar keratoplasty in both eyes for Salzmann's degeneration, 22 years ago. A repeat lamellar keratoplasty was performed in the right eye (7.5 mm/8 mm). In the other patient, penetrating keratoplasty was performed in the left eye, 6 years ago for the same. Lamellar keratoplasty was performed in the left eye (8 mm/8 mm). The histopathologic evaluation of the host button in both the cases, showed features very much suggestive of a recurrence of Salzmann's nodular degeneration.

Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome with intracranial meningioma: an as yet unreported association.

CASE REPORT: We document a previously unreported association of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) syndrome with intracranial meningioma. A female patient with diminished vision, exudative retinal detachment, and headache was diagnosed with VKH syndrome, more precisely a Harada form of disease with intracranial meningioma, on the basis of exudative retinal detachment, typical fundus fluorescein findings, and magnetic resonance imaging. With intravenous steroid therapy, visual acuity improved and the detachment settled within a week. At 3 months, the detachment recurred but improved after retreatment. At 1 year, the tumour was unchanged in size. COMMENTS: VKH syndrome may be associated with intracranial meningioma that may affect the patient's overall morbidity or mortality.