Clinical outcomes of laser in situ keratomileusis with an aberration-neutral profile centered on the corneal vertex comparing vector planning with manifest refraction planning for the treatment of myopic astigmatism.

PURPOSE: To evaluate clinical outcomes of laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) with an aberration-neutral profile centered on the estimated visual axis (considering 70% of the pupil offset toward the corneal vertex) comparing vector planning with manifest refraction planning for the treatment of myopic astigmatism. SETTING: Muscat Eye Laser Center, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, Muscat, Oman. DESIGN: Retrospective case series. METHODS: The outcomes were evaluated at a 6-month follow-up in eyes showing ocular residual astigmatism (ORA) over 0.75 diopters (D) preoperatively. RESULTS: Eighty-five treatments were based on manifest astigmatism (preoperative sphere -2.11 D ± 1.3 [SD], cylinder -0.90 ± 1.0 D), and 79 treatments were based on vector planning (preoperative sphere -2.46 ± 1.5 D, cylinder -0.78 ± 0.79 D). At a 6-month follow-up, 128 patients (164 eyes) were evaluated and no significant differences were observed between the 2 groups in terms of difference between corrected distance visual acuity and uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA) (P = .1, t test and Fisher exact test Snellen lines 1 or better, P = .4) and postoperative UDVA (P = .05, t test and Fisher exact test for UDVA 20/16 or better, P = .3). Significant differences were observed between the 2 groups in terms of achieved spherical equivalent (P = .04), corneal toricity, and ORA (P < .001, t test and Fisher exact test for ORA ≤0.75 D, P < .001). CONCLUSION: Performing LASIK for myopic astigmatism with the vector planning approach resulted in comparable visual outcomes to manifest refraction planning.

Sjögren's syndrome at the crossroad of polyautoimmunity.

The coexistence of autoimmune diseases (i.e., polyautoimmunity) in Sjögren's syndrome (SS) was investigated in a cross-sectional study involving 410 patients. Logistic regression analysis and the Rogers and Tanimoto index were used to evaluate risk factors and clustering, respectively. There were 134 (32.6%) patients with polyautoimmunity. The most frequent and closer coexistent diseases were autoimmune thyroid disease (21.5%), rheumatoid arthritis (8.3%), systemic lupus erythematosus (7.6%), and inflammatory bowel disease (0.7%) which together constituted a cluster group. There were 35 (8.5%) patients with multiple autoimmune syndrome. Besides disease duration, a history of habitual smoking and spontaneous abortion were found to be risk factors for the developing of polyautoimmunity. This study discloses a high prevalence of polyautoimmunity in SS, its associated risk factors and the grouping pattern of such a condition. These results may serve to define plausible approaches to study the common mechanisms of autoimmune diseases.