Long-term results of hyperopic ablations using alcohol-assisted PRK and FS-LASIK: comparative study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the long-term visual and refractive outcomes of hyperopic excimer ablation using alcohol-assisted photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) and femtosecond laser-assisted laser in situ keratomileusis (FS-LASIK). SETTING: American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon. DESIGN: Retrospective, matched comparative study. METHODS: Eyes that underwent alcohol-assisted PRK were compared to matched eyes that underwent FS-LASIK. All patients were followed up for at least 3 years after surgery. The refractive and visual outcomes of each group were compared at different postoperative time points. The main outcome measures were spherical equivalent deviation from target (SEDT), manifest refraction, and visual acuity. RESULTS: 83 eyes underwent alcohol-assisted PRK and 83 matched eyes underwent FS-LASIK. Preoperative manifest refraction spherical equivalent was 2.44 ± 1.18 diopters (D) and 2.20 ± 0.87 D ( P = .133) in the PRK and FS-LASIK groups, respectively. Preoperative manifest cylinder was -0.77 ± 0.89 D and -0.61 ± 0.59 D ( P = .175) for the PRK and LASIK groups, respectively. 3 years postoperatively, SEDT was 0.28 ± 0.66 D and 0.40 ± 0.56 D for the PRK and LASIK groups, respectively ( P = .222), whereas manifest cylinder was -0.55 ± 0.49 D and -0.30 ± 0.34 D for PRK and LASIK, respectively ( P < .001). The mean difference vector was 0.59 ± 0.46 for PRK and 0.38 ± 0.32 for LASIK ( P < .001). 13.3% of PRK eyes and 0% of LASIK eyes had >1 D of manifest cylinder ( P = .003). CONCLUSIONS: Both alcohol-assisted PRK and FS-LASIK are safe and effective for the treatment of hyperopia. PRK induces slightly more postoperative astigmatism than LASIK. Larger optical zones and recently introduced ablation profiles that lead to a smoother ablation surface might improve the clinical results of hyperopic PRK.

Ten-Year Outcomes of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Versus Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting for Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Suffering from Left Main Coronary Disease: A Meta-Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: In this meta-analysis, we aimed to systematically compare the 10-year outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) versus coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) suffering from left main coronary artery disease (LMCD). METHODS: Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), http://www.ClinicalTrials.gov , Excerpta Medica dataBASE (EMBASE), Cochrane Central, Web of Science, and Google scholar were searched for publications comparing 10-year outcomes of PCI versus CABG in patients with T2DM suffering from LMCD. Cardiovascular outcomes were considered as the clinical endpoints. Statistical analysis was carried out using RevMan software (version 5.4). Risk ratios (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to represent the data after analysis. RESULTS: Eight studies (three randomized trials and five observational studies) with a total number of 3835 participants with T2DM were included in this analysis; 2340 participants were assigned to the PCI group and 1495 participants were assigned to the CABG group. Results of this analysis showed that mortality (RR 0.85, 95% CI 0.73-1.00; P = 0.05), myocardial infarction (RR 0.53, 95% CI 0.35-0.80; P = 0.002), repeated revascularization (RR 0.34, 95% CI 0.26-0.46; P = 0.00001), and target vessel revascularization (RR 0.26, 95% CI 0.18-0.38; P = 0.00001) were significantly higher with PCI when compared to CABG in these patients with diabetes and LMCD. Major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events were also significantly higher with PCI at 10 years (RR 0.67, 95% CI 0.49-0.92; P = 0.01). However, CABG was associated with a significantly higher risk of stroke (RR 2.16, 95% CI 1.39-3.37; P = 0.0007). CONCLUSIONS: During a long-term follow-up time period of 10 years, PCI was associated with worse clinical outcomes compared to CABG in these patients with T2DM suffering from LMCD. However, a significantly higher risk of stroke was observed with CABG. This piece of information might be vital in order to carefully choose and prevent complications following revascularization in such patients.

Peripheral Vascular Disease and Implication of Nursing Practice: A Brief Literature Review.

Nowadays nurse practitioners are working in several acute hospital settings in different specialized departments. For decades, studies have shown the implications of nurse practice in peripheral vascular disease (PVD) and peripheral vascular intervention (PVI) to have several major benefits. However, there are very limited studies and data on this particular aspect. In this literature review, we briefly discuss the implication of nursing practice in PVD/PVI. This review briefly shows that nursing practice has a major contribution and implication in the treatment of patients with PVD or PVI, especially in patients with diabetes mellitus. From available research, we briefly discuss the implication of nursing practice pre- and postoperatively for PVI. Nurses also contribute significantly in catheter-directed thrombolytic therapy, in smoking cessation programs organized for patients with PVD, and in screening patients for PVD. The vascular nurse practitioners are also involved in providing healthcare advice in order to reduce the risk of disease progression. The major lack of research in this particular field should further inspire scientists to develop and carry out research to further investigate and demonstrate the contribution of nurses in the treatment and management of PVD or PVI, which is gradually becoming a major issue.