Prevalence and risk factors of clonorchiasis among residents of riverside areas in Muju-gun, Jeollabuk-do, Korea.

We evaluated the status of Clonorchis sinensis infection and potential risk factors among residents of riverside areas (Geumgang) in Muju-gun, Jeollabuk-do (Province), Korea. From January to February 2010, a total of 349 (171 males, 178 females) stool samples were collected and examined by the formalin-ether concentration technique. Also, village residents were interviewed using questionnaires to obtain information about C. sinensis infection-related risk factors. Overall egg-positive rate of C. sinensis was 13.2%. Egg-positive rates were significantly higher in males, farmers, and residents who had lived there more than 20 years, and in residents who had eaten raw freshwater fish than in opposite groups, respectively. However, there was no significant difference between age groups, education levels, cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, health status, past history of infection, and experience of clonorchiasis medication and examination. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine risk factors for clonorchiasis. On univariate analysis, the odds ratios for males, farmers, those who had lived there more than 20 years, and who had eaten raw freshwater fish were 2.41, 4.44, 3.16, and 4.88 times higher than those of the opposites, respectively. On multivariate analysis, the odds ratio of residents who had eaten raw freshwater fish was 3.2-fold higher than that of those who had not. These results indicate that residents living in Muju-gun, along the Geum River, Korea, have relatively high C. sinensis egg-positive rates, and the habit of eating raw freshwater fish was the major factor for the maintenance of clonorchiasis.

Comparison of Outcomes after Wavefront-optimized and Topography-guided Transepithelial Photorefractive Keratectomy.

Purpose: To evaluate the outcomes of wavefront-optimized (WFO) and topography-guided (TG) transepithelial photorefractive keratectomy (transPRK) in the treatment of myopia and myopic astigmatism. Methods: Patients who underwent transPRK using the WaveLight® EX500 excimer laser for the correction of myopia and myopic astigmatism between January 2022 and March 2023 were divided into the WFO transPRK (77 eyes of 36 patients) or TG transPRK (63 eyes of 31 patients) groups in this retrospective, observational cohort study. The pre- and postoperative 3-month refractive and visual outcomes of the two groups were analyzed. Results: The uncorrected distance visual acuity was 0.0 logMAR or better in 95% of eyes 3 months postoperatively, and the mean manifest refraction spherical equivalent was within ± 1.0 diopter (D) in 90% of eyes. No significant differences were observed between the groups in terms of the UDVA or astigmatism. A significant induction of higher-order aberrations (HOAs) was observed in both groups. However, the induction of total corneal HOAs (P = .014) and spherical aberrations (P = .000) was significantly lower in the TG group than that in the WFO group. Conclusions: WFO and TG transPRK effectively improved the visual and refractive outcomes; however, the induction of total corneal HOAs and spherical aberration was lesser following the TG ablation.