Clinical Characteristics of Acute Zonal Occult Outer Retinopathy

PURPOSE: To investigate the clinical characteristics of patients with acute zonal occult outer retinopathy (AZOOR). METHODS: Medical records of 13 patients who visited Seoul National University Bundang Hospital from May, 2003 to May, 2015 and diagnosed with AZOOR were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: Thirteen patients (11 women and 2 men), with a mean age of 28.5 ± 11.4 years were followed for 42.8 ± 30.3 months. Visual field loss, photopsia, and blurred vision were common complaints. Initially, four patients had bilateral disease and seven patients showed bilateral involvement at the last visit. Mean best corrected visual acuity of involved eyes (BCVA) was 0.75 ± 0.32 (log MAR). Among 20 eyes with AZOOR, BCVA was 20/40 or better in 17 eyes (85.0%). The mean spherical equivalent was -4.59 ± 3.23 diopters (D), and 15 eyes (75.0%) had myopia less than -2.00 D. Nine eyes of seven patients (34.6%) had abnormal fundus findings. All patients underwent full field electroretinogram (ERG) or multifocal ERG and a visual field test. Thirteen patients (100.0%) showed a decreased response in ERG and visual field defects presented in every patient. With respect to the visual field test, 10 eyes (50.0%) showed improvement, 6 eyes (30.0%) had stationary status, and the progression of the visual field defect was observed in 4 eyes (20.0%). Among 13 patients, 4 (30.8%) patients showed flu-like symptom, 4 (30.8%) patients had fatigue, 2 (15.4%) patients had nausea, and 2 (15.4%) patients showed headache. CONCLUSIONS: AZOOR should be considered as one of the differential diagnoses, especially in female patients with myopia who show photopsia or visual field defects. ERG and visual field tests are necessary to confirm a decrease in retinal function and visual field loss. Central vision is preserved in most cases and recovery of visual field defect occurs often.

Diagnostic Value of the Serum Anti-Toxocara IgG Titer for Ocular Toxocariasis in Patients with Uveitis at a Tertiary Hospital in Korea

PURPOSE: This study evaluated the prevalence of ocular toxocariasis (OT) in patients with uveitis of unknown etiology who visited a tertiary hospital in South Korea and assessed the success of serum anti-Toxocara immunoglobulin G (IgG) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) as a diagnostic test for OT. METHODS: The records of consecutive patients with intraocular inflammation of unknown etiology were reviewed. All participants underwent clinical and laboratory investigations, including ELISA for serum anti-Toxocara IgG. OT was diagnosed based on typical clinical findings. Clinical characteristics, seropositivity, and IgG titers were compared between patients diagnosed with OT and non-OT uveitis. The seropositivity and the diagnostic value of anti-Toxocara IgG was investigated among patients with different types of uveitis. RESULTS: Of 238 patients with uveitis of unknown etiology, 71 (29.8%) were diagnosed with OT, and 80 (33.6%) had positive ELISA results for serum anti-Toxocara IgG. The sensitivity and specificity of the ELISA test were 91.5% (65 / 71) and 91.0% (152 / 167), respectively. The positive predictive value of the serum anti-Toxocara IgG assay was 81.3%. Among patients with anterior, intermediate, posterior, and panuveitis, the prevalence rates of OT were 8.3%, 47.1%, 44.8%, and 7.1%, respectively; the seropositivity percentages were 18.1%, 47.1%, 43.7%, and 17.9%; and the positive predictive values were 38.5%, 95.8%, 92.1%, and 40.0%. The serum anti-Toxocara IgG titer also significantly decreased following albendazole treatment. CONCLUSIONS: OT is a common cause of intraocular inflammation in the tertiary hospital setting. Considering that OT is more prevalent in intermediate and posterior uveitis, and that the positive predictive value of the anti-Toxocara IgG assay is high, a routine test for anti-Toxocara IgG might be necessary for Korean patients with intermediate and posterior uveitis.

Choroidal Neovascularization Following Epiretinal Membrane Peeling

No abstract available.

Pleomorphic Adenoma of the Lacrimal Gland in a Child

PURPOSE: To report one case of pleomorphic adenoma of the lacrimal gland in a child. CASE SUMMARY: A 7-year-old boy presented with a 2-month history of an exophthalmos and mild ptosis of the left eye; there were no other ophthalmologic problems. Orbit MRI revealed a well-defined mass in the left lacrimal gland and a defect in the orbital roof due to pressure erosion. Tumor resection was performed via a lateral orbitotomy and a biopsy was requested. The biopsy revealed tumor tissue that was composed of epithelial elements with variably sized duct formation. Focal squamous metaplasia and keratin production was also observed. CONCLUSIONS: Pleomorphic adenoma of the lacrimal gland should be considered as a differential diagnosis of a lacrimal gland mass in a child.

Standardization of Reference Values among Laboratories of Korean Association of Health Promotion / 임상검사와정도관리

BACKGROUND: All fifteen laboratories of Korean Association of Health Promotion were used to use different reference ranges that were mostly adapted from the published data or the recommended data by the reagent companies supplied as inserts. These created problems such as inadequate interpretation, inability of exchangeable patient data, and subsequent confusion, and all the data stored became useless particularly in the respect of health statistics. The purpose of this study was to solve such problems through defining commonly acceptable reference ranges. METHODS: All the results performed during October 1, 2000 through September 31, 2001 were collected in preferably 'Excel' file format. All the data included the necessary information such as age and sex. The age was grouped in six; baby (0-3y), children (4-12y), adolescent (13-18y), adult (19-64y), younger elderly (65-79y), old elderly (over 80y), with references of statistics in medical informatics and WHO classification. The data were statistically analyzed with SAS 6.04 for Gaussian distribution. None of the tests showed Gaussian distribution. These procedures had been repeated twice or three times after trimming out the results lying outside three standard deviations. Though, all the tests showed non-Gaussian distribution. Subsequently, the reference ranges were defined in the range from the point of lower 2.5% to the point of higher 97.5%. And in case the lower range could be "0", the reference ranges were defined in the range of 0 to 95%. RESULTS: The reference ranges of 56 test items were newly assigned. Among these there were eight tests that needed reference ranges by the age groups and nine tests by the sex. CONCLUSIONS: All 15 laboratories of Korean Association of Health Promotion now have the same reference ranges that were statistically derived from their own data. This means the patient data and reference values can be exchangeable among their laboratories.