Validity of a new comprehensive pterygia grading scale for use in clinical research and clinical trial.

PURPOSE: To determine the reliability and agreement of a new comprehensive pterygium grading scale for use in clinical research and clinical trials. METHODS: Thirty eyes with pterygia were enrolled in this study. Primary gaze position and lateral gaze position images were taken of each eye with a modified single-lens reflex camera system. Our grading scale includes five parameters: two hyperemia parameters of pterygia on two different gaze position images and three size parameters, quantifying length, width, and area of the cornea encroachment of pterygium, using ImageJ software. All images were graded on the five parameters by two masked, certified reading center graders. Two graders independently graded all the images to determine inter-grader reliability. One grader regraded the images after 3 days to determine intra-grader reliability. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and inter-rater agreement statistic (κ) calculations were performed. RESULTS: The intra-grader reliability for hyperemia grading was high on both primary and lateral gazing positions (κ value is 0.93 and 0.96). The inter-grader reliability for hyperemia grading was also good (κ value is 0.85 and 0.87). The mean value of width, length, and area of the cornea encroachment of pterygium was 4.31 ± 2.04 mm, 2.08 ± 1.43 mm, and 7.84 ± 7.62 mm2, respectively. The intra-grader agreement on width, length, and area were excellent, with ICCs of 0.98 (95% CI 0.96-0.99), 0.99 (95% CI 0.98-1.0), and 0.97 (95% CI 0.94-0.99), respectively. The inter-grader agreement on width, length, and area were also excellent, with ICCs of 0.96 (95% CI 0.90-0.98), 0.99 (95% CI 0.98-0.99), and 0.99 (95% CI 0.97-0.99), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: There was excellent intra- and inter-observer reproducibility with the new comprehensive grading scale. This scale could lead to the development of standardized grading assessments and quantification of pterygia that would be valid in clinical research and clinical trials.

Prevalence and clinicopathologic findings of conjunctival epithelial neoplasia in pterygia.

PURPOSE: To study the prevalence of conjunctival neoplasia in clinically diagnosed pterygia and the clinicopathologic characteristics of conjunctival tissues obtained from pterygium excision. DESIGN: Prospective, observational case series. PARTICIPANTS: From February through August 2007, consecutive subjects indicated for pterygium excision were enrolled from an outpatient eye clinic of King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand, and from the eye camp at the 6th Station of the Thai Red Cross Society, Aranyaprathet District, Sa Kaeo, Thailand. A total of 498 eyes from 482 subjects were studied. The mean age of the subjects was 56.5 ± 11.7 years. The male-to-female ratio was 3:7. METHODS: Clinical data were gathered, including age, sex, occupation, family history, and medical history. Pterygia were clinically graded as mild, intermediate, or fleshy. Tissues from surgical fields were fixed in formalin and processed using standard pathology laboratory methods. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Histopathologic results were examined in a masked fashion by 3 pathologists. RESULTS: Ninety-one percent of tissue was from primary pterygia. Most lesions were classified as intermediate grade (45.2%). Histopathologic results showed that 4 eyes had conjunctival intraepithelial neoplasia. Two eyes had minimal cellular atypia at the conjunctival epithelium. Two eyes had complex choristoma. For the subjects who had conjunctival epithelial neoplasia, the mean age was 57.0 ± 8.0 years, 44.4% were male, and none had a history of carcinoma in other organs or any history of herpes virus, human papilloma virus, or human immunodeficiency virus infections. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of conjunctival epithelial neoplasia in clinically diagnosed pterygia is approximately 1.8%. Because the clinical characteristics of subjects who have conjunctival epithelial neoplasia apparently did not differ from those without, tissue pathologic examination may be required to diagnose the condition.

Randomized trial of pterygium surgery with mitomycin C application using conjunctival autograft versus conjunctival-limbal autograft.

PURPOSE: To compare the outcomes of free conjunctival autograft (CAU) versus conjunctival-limbal autograft (CLAU) in the prevention of recurrence after pterygium surgery with adjunctive mitomycin C application in patients with primary or recurrent pterygia. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized study. PARTICIPANTS AND CONTROLS: Eighty-seven eyes of 86 patients with primary or recurrent nasal pterygia were included. METHODS: All eyes underwent pterygium excision followed by removal of subconjunctival fibrovascular tissue and application of 0.02% mitomycin C for 3 minutes. The eyes then were assigned randomly to receive either CAU (44 eyes) or CLAU (43 eyes). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Rate of conjunctival or corneal recurrence of pterygium after surgery. RESULTS: A follow-up of at least 12 months (mean, 14 ± 2.2 months) was achieved in 78 eyes of 78 patients, including 39 eyes in the CAU group (31 primary and 8 recurrent pterygia) and 39 eyes in the CLAU group (33 primary and 6 recurrent pterygia). After surgery, no eye in the CLAU group developed pterygium recurrence; however, recurrence was seen in 2 eyes (5.1%) in the CAU group, including 1 of 31 patients (3.2%) with primary pterygia and 1 of 8 patients (12.5%) with recurrent pterygia. There was no statistically significant difference in recurrence rates between the 2 groups or in the primary and recurrent subgroups. In the CLAU group, a localized pannus formation at the donor site of the limbal graft was noted in 5 eyes (12.8%), with the appearance of pseudopterygium in 1 eye. CONCLUSIONS: There was no significant difference in recurrence rates of pterygium after surgery with mitomycin C application between the CAU and CLAU groups, more remarkably in primary cases. Limbal damage was seen in some eyes with CLAU.

Proposal and validation of a new grading system for pterygium (SLIT2).

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To propose and validate a new pterygium grading system based on slit-lamp evaluation. METHODS: This prospective cross-sectional study included 217 patients with pterygium. All patients underwent slit-lamp examination, and slit-lamp photographs were independently graded by two graders twice. A total of eight parameters were evaluated and all parameters were assigned with a score of 1-4 (normal-severe). Intra-rater and inter-rater reliability as determined by weighted Cohen's kappa analysis. RESULTS: A total of 868 independent assessment, based on 217 slit-lamp images, were performed by two graders. For conjunctival assessment, the intra-rater reliability was excellent for body thickness (κ=0.81-0.89) and size at limbus (κ=0.87-0.92), substantial-to-excellent for body vascularity (κ=0.72-0.86), and moderate-to-excellent for body length (κ=0.57-0.81), whereas the inter-rater reliability was excellent for size at limbus (κ=0.86), substantial for body thickness (κ=0.72-0.73) and body vascularity (κ=0.66-0.75), and moderate for body length (κ=0.54-0.57). For corneal assessment, the intra-rater reliability was excellent for all four parameters (κ=0.84-0.90) whereas the inter-rater reliability was excellent for head length (κ=0.86-0.87), substantial-to-excellent for head vascularity (κ=0.78-0.82), substantial for Stocker's line (κ=0.79-0.80) and head thickness (κ=0.67-0.69). The grading system was named SLIT2, which included S tocker's line, S ize at limbus, L ength of head/body, I njection/vascularity of body/head, and T hickness of body/head. CONCLUSION: The proposed SLIT2 grading system, consisting of eight components, may serve as a reliable tool to standardise the reporting of pterygium severity and disease recurrence for clinical and research applications.

Ultraviolet fluorescence photography: patterns in established pterygia.

PURPOSE: To investigate established pterygia using our newly developed ultraviolet fluorescence photography (UVFP) system. DESIGN: Prospective observational case series. METHODS: setting: Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, Australia. study population: Fourteen patients (both eyes) attending the Ophthalmology Clinic at Prince of Wales Hospital for assessment of their established pterygia. There were eight men and six women, with an age range of 26 to 62 years. A total of 15 (75%) of 20 had primary pterygia, and five (25%) of 20 had recurrent pterygia. There were no specific exclusion criteria. observation procedures: Ultraviolet and standard (control) photographs were taken of the nasal and temporal interpalpebral regions bilaterally. main outcome measures: The presence of established pterygia detected by standard photography and the corresponding presence and patterns of areas of fluorescence detected by UVFP. RESULTS: In the 14 patients, 20 established pterygia were identified on standard photography. On UVFP, four patterns of fluorescence of established pterygia were identified. Of the 20 pterygia, six (30%) of 20 demonstrated fluorescence at the leading edge of the pterygium, seven (35%) of 20 demonstrated fluorescence at the limbus, three (15%) of 20 demonstrated fluorescence at both the leading edge and the limbus, and four (20%) of 20 demonstrated no visible fluorescence. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we describe patterns of fluorescence in established pterygia by UVFP. We hypothesize that the areas of fluorescence represent areas of cellular activity within the pterygium. The patterns of fluorescence may be useful to further understand of pterygium growth and pathogenesis.

Proposal for a Novel Severity Grading System for Pterygia Based on Corneal Topographic Data.

PURPOSE: To propose a grading system of pterygium severity based on corneal higher-order irregularity (HOI) and to evaluate postoperative changes in corneal irregularity of the graded pterygia. METHODS: In 268 eyes of 226 patients undergoing excision surgery of primary nasal pterygium, Placido corneal topography images were taken before and until 6 months after surgery. The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and pterygium size with respect to the corneal diameter were also measured. HOI components within 1.0-, 3.0-, and 5.0-mm diameters were obtained using Fourier harmonic analysis of corneal topography data. With threshold levels when the HOIs for 3 diameters steeply increased, 4 levels of grading from 0 (mild) to 3 (severe) were determined. Associations of the grades with the preoperative surface regularity index (SRI), irregular components (IRRs) obtained from the 3.0-mm diameter Fourier analysis, and BCVA were examined. Time-course changes in the indexes after surgery were evaluated for each grade. RESULTS: There were 62, 65, 41, and 100 eyes in grades 0 to 3, respectively. Preoperatively, the SRI in grade 3 was significantly higher than in the other grades (P < 0.001), and the IRR and BCVA varied with the grade (P < 0.001). Between 1 and 6 months postoperatively, grade 3 pterygia showed significant changes in the SRI and IRR (P = 0.013 and 0.017, respectively), whereas there was no change after 3 months postoperatively in the SRI, IRR, and BCVA for all other grades. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed grading effectively classified the severity of pterygia and evaluated postoperative restoration of corneal irregularity. Using corneal topographic data allowed for objective evaluation of pterygium severity.

Exérese de pterígio em paciente pós-LASIK com técnica de air bubble / Pterygium surgery with air bubble technique in a post-LASIK patient

RESUMO O pterígio é uma das doenças que mais acomete a superfície ocular, principalmente em regiões próximas ao Equador. Ocorre principalmente em adultos jovens, podendo ocasionar sintomas, danos estéticos e ópticos. Relata-se um caso de exérese de pterígio classificado pela extensão corneana em grau II e, pela vascularização, em grau 2 de Tan, com cirurgia prévia de LASIK, a partir de uma nova técnica, a técnica de Moscovici, a qual fundamenta-se na dissecção com bolha de ar, com a finalidade de separar o epitélio conjuntival do estroma profundo e da Tenon, com maior facilidade e rapidez e para obter enxertos finos.

ABSTRACT Pterygium is one of the diseases that most affect the ocular surface, especially in regions close to the equator. It mainly affects young adults and can cause symptoms, as well as aesthetic and optical impairment. We report a case of pterygium excision classified by grade II corneal extension and Tan grade 2 vascularization with previous laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) surgery, using a new technique, the Moscovici technique, which is based on dissection with an air bubble to separate easier and faster the conjunctival epithelium from the deep stroma and the Tenon, obtaining thinner grafts.

Five-Year Incidence and Predictors for Pterygium in a Rural Community in China: The Yunnan Minority Eye Study.

PURPOSE: To determine the 5-year cumulative incidence of pterygium and its associated predictors in the Bai Chinese population in a rural community. METHODS: This population-based study included 2133 subjects aged 50 years or older in 2010 and was repeated in 2015 with 1520 subjects (71.3%) participating in the follow-up examination. Participants with pterygium in either eye in 2010 were excluded from the analysis related to incidence. Anterior segment examination was performed without pupil dilation using a slit lamp, and pterygium was defined as a raised fleshy triangular fibrovascular tissue growth of the conjunctiva encroaching onto the clear cornea. RESULTS: The 5-year cumulative incidence of pterygium was 6.8% [95% confidence interval (CI), 5.2-8.4] and was significantly higher in women compared with men (8.8% vs. 3.8%; P = 0.003). The age-specific incidence was 7.7%, 6.5%, and 5.6% in those aged 50-59, 60-69, 70 years, or older at the baseline, respectively. Outdoor occupation was the only predictor, which remained to be significantly associated with a higher incidence of pterygium in multivariate analysis (odds ratio = 2.52, 95% CI, 1.27-4.95). The predictive effect of outdoor occupation on incident pterygium was moderate with an area under the curve in the receiver operating characteristic analysis of 0.59 (95% CI, 0.53-0.66). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of pterygium in this rural cohort was higher compared to a previous report in Chinese in urban areas. The findings are important for health policy makers to project future burden of pterygium and make proper decisions on health resource allocation.

Evaluating pterygium severity: a survey of corneal specialists.

PURPOSE: Accurate and reliable evaluation techniques are essential for clinical and epidemiologic studies. This survey of corneal specialists was designed to lay a foundation for the further development of methods for evaluating and staging pterygium. METHODS: In a self-administered, mailed questionnaire, 213 corneal specialists rated the importance of nine symptoms, nine signs, and nine clinical tests for the severity of primary pterygium. Severity was defined as the present need for surgical intervention. RESULTS: The most important factors for determining primary pterygium severity were the extent of encroachment onto the cornea, decreased visual acuity, restricted ocular motility, and increased rate of growth. Many patient symptoms were rated as moderately to highly important. The questionnaire was shown to have good response reliability by test-retest comparisons. Cronbach's alpha was 0.89, which indicates very good internal consistency reliability. CONCLUSION: The survey identifies the priorities of experts in determining the severity of pterygium. More precise and clearly defined evaluation methods will enhance future clinical and epidemiologic studies of pterygium. The ranked list of pterygium signs, symptoms, and tests can serve as a guide for developing pterygium evaluation methods in the future. There is a need for a method that accurately and precisely quantifies the distance of pterygium encroachment onto the cornea and the pterygium progression rate. Furthermore, there is a need for an assessment of patient symptoms.

The lethal multiple pterygium syndrome: a nosological approach.

The Lethal Multiple Pterygium Syndrome (LMPS) is characterised by lethality, multiple pterygia and frequently hydrops and/or hygroma colli. In this paper, we review 36 published cases, discuss the clinical features, pathogenesis, differential diagnosis and mode(s) of inheritance. Most cases were diagnosed in the second trimester of pregnancy by hydrops/hygroma colli at ultrasonography and/or stillbirth. Pterygia were present in two or more body areas overlying predominantly the large joints; joint contractures always accompany the pterygia. Facial features are: hypertelorism, antimongoloïd slanting of the palpebral fissures, flattened nasal bridge with hyproplastic nasal alae, micrognathia and cleft palate. Lung hypoplasia is the rule. Except for hypoplastic bones there were no consistent radiological findings. Cerebral abnormalities were occasionally found; muscular atrophy was mentioned in a number of cases. Chromosome abnormalities were never reported. Based on clinical presentation we propose an "early type" of LMPS and a "late type" of LMPS. Besides, we consider the cases described by Herva as a separate "Finnish type" LMPS. We found an excess of male cases, especially in young fetuses. LMPS is known as an autosomal recessive inherited trait. X-linked recessive inheritance however cannot be excluded in an isolated male case or in a sibship with males only. The Finnish type of LMPS appears to be an autosomal recessive trait.

[Surgical treatment of pterygium: 24 cases of excision]. / Traitement chirurgical du ptérygion: 42 cas d'excision.

Forty-two eyes (32 patients) with pterygia were treated with simple excision at the Ophthalmologic Clinic of University of Kinshasa during a four year period (from Jan. 1, 1983, to Dec. 31, 1986). The mean age of patients with pterygia was 36 years (range of 22 to 70 years). Nineteen (59%) patients were males and thirteen (41%) were females. Twenty (48%) pterygia affected right and left eyes and 9 (21%) pterygia affected the right eye and 13 (31%) the left eye. The pterygia were classified in four stages according to the degree of penetration from the surface of the cornea. Most of the excised pterygia were at stage one or two. With an average follow-up of six months (range, one to 34 months), 10 (24%) of the eyes had recurrences following their primary irrespective of the eye condition and the stage of advancement. Rate of recurrence of pterygium after primary excision was higher before the age of 40 years. The recurrences were also twice higher in females than in males. Excision of the recurrent pterygia indicated a recurrence rate of 100%. These results confirm that simple resection was not indicated for recurrent pterygium, which could be treated with an other surgical technique as previously recommended. The results of this study showed that the primary excision could be reserved only for pterygium at stage 1 or 2 after the age of 40 years.

Refractive astigmatism and size of pterygium.

The study evaluates the relationship between varying sizes of pterygium and refractive astigmatism. All patients with pterygium seen at the eye clinic of the University College Hospital within a six months period were included. The length, width and area of pterygium were measured. Refractive astigmatism in the subjects were measured. The findings showed that the length of pterygium on the cornea has a statistically significant relationship with the amount of refractive astigmatism. The amount of astigmatism increases with increase in the length of pterygia. A linear regression analysis showed that 38% of the total variability in astigmatism could be explained by the length of pterygium. The width and area of pterygium on cornea had no significant association with amount of refractive astigmatism. Size of pterygia could be an important predictor of the amount of astigmatism in an eye. However, a larger study need to be done to find other possible factors associating refractive astigmatism in eyes with pterygium.

Pterygium recurrence related to its size and corneal involvement.

OBJECTIVE: To establish the usefulness of grading system based on the size and extent of corneal involvement in predicting recurrence in patients undergoing primary pterygium excision with intraoperative use of adjunctive topical Mitomycin-C (MMC). STUDY DESIGN: A case series. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Section of Ophthalmology, the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from 2005 till 2010. METHODOLOGY: One hundred and twenty male patients (120 eyes) underwent surgical removal of pterygium using bare sclera method with MMC in concentration of 0.2 mg/ml (0.02%) with exposure time of 3 minutes. Classification of subjects was done according to the grading of pterygium. Patients were followed at 3 months interval for a minimum period of 1 year to record any recurrence. RESULTS: The pterygium recurrence rate was 6.7% at a follow-up of 1 year. There was no significant association of pterygium recurrence with younger age (p = 0.14). A higher level of corneal involvement by the pterygium at presentation correlated significantly with the recurrence (p = 0.01). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that a higher grade of pterygium at presentation in patients leads to increased rate of recurrence after surgical excision. Hence, early excision of pterygium is recommended to decrease its recurrence rate.

Risk factors associated with pterygium and its subtypes in Korea: the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2008-2010.

PURPOSE: To assess the sociodemographic and health-related risk factors associated with pterygium and its subtypes in Korea. METHODS: From 2008 to 2010, a total of 14,920 randomly selected national representative participants of the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey underwent additional ophthalmologic examinations by the Korean Ophthalmologic Society. The risk factors for pterygium in general or according to subtype (atrophic, intermediate, and fleshy) were identified using multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The prevalence of pterygium was 6.7% (95% confidence interval, 5.9-7.5) in subjects aged 30 years or older. Older age, male sex, lower educational level, rural habitation, nonsmoking, and sun exposure were independent risk factors for pterygium. Among subjects with pterygium, older age, male sex, lower educational level, and nonsmoking were independent risk factors for all types of pterygium. Sun exposure for >5 h/d was the independent risk factor for the severe pterygium subtype. CONCLUSIONS: Socioeconomic disparities in pterygium development exist. Proper ocular examination and education to avoid excessive sun exposure would be helpful in reducing disease risk.

New grading system to improve the surgical outcome of multirecurrent pterygia.

OBJECTIVE: To report a new grading system and surgical outcome by sealing the gap between the conjunctiva and Tenon capsule. METHODS: A total of 32 eyes of 30 patients with pterygia were managed at the Ocular Surface Center from January 1, 2002, through December 31, 2010. The eyes were consecutively operated on by recession; sealing of the gap; covering of exposed medial rectus muscle by amniotic membrane, conjunctival autograft, or oral mucosal graft (OMG); and covering of the bare sclera with amniotic membrane. Main outcome measures were recurrence, diplopia, and caruncle morphological characteristics. RESULTS: Caruncle grading strongly correlated with residual conjunctiva (P = .01), severity of diplopia (P = .001), and overall success rate (P = .05). Amniotic membrane transplantation alone was successful in 23 eyes with residual conjunctiva of 27.8 (10.1) mm, which was significantly longer than those in 6 cases in which amniotic membrane transplantation failed (13.1 [11.4] mm, P = .007) and those in 8 cases in which amniotic membrane transplantation was successful but that required an additional conjunctival autograft or oral mucosal graft (10.9 [10.4] mm, P = .001). During mean (SD) follow-up of 27.5 (20.5) months, 30 of 32 eyes (94%) achieved total success without recurrence and diplopia and normal caruncle in 17 of 21 eyes (81%) with abnormal caruncle before surgery. One eye (3%) developed corneal recurrence and was lost to follow-up, and 1 eye (3%) was left with a depressed caruncle and residual diplopia on adduction. CONCLUSIONS: Caruncle morphological characteristics and residual conjunctiva measurement help grade the severity of recurrent pterygium, guide surgical techniques, and predict outcomes. Sealing of the gap is important to create a strong barrier for preventing recurrence, restoring caruncle morphological characteristics, and regaining full motility in multirecurrent pterygia.

Management of pterygia: should thiotepa be used?

Pterygium, a common source of morbidity throughout the world, may appear to be an innocuous, easily excised lesion, yet it plagues the ophthalmologist by its high rate of recurrence, ranging from 20% to 30% after simple excision. Beta irradiation has been used by ophthalmic surgeons for many years. Another method of stemming the high percentage of pterygium recurrence is through local application of thiotepa, a radiomimetic drug that inhibits rapidly proliferating cells. The following report is a review of the literature from 1960 to 1977 on the role of thiotepa in treatment of pterygium, with emphasis on the complications of thiotepa administration. The recurrence rate after topical postoperative use of thiotepa ranges from 0 to 8%, with disturbing variance in results, depending on each investigator's definition of "recurrence", the length of follow-up, the type of pterygium, and the number of patients. The main reported complication from thiotepa's use has been depigmentation of skin around several patients' eyes, sometimes precipitated by exposure to the sun's rays.