Effectiveness of citicoline in pediatric patients with refractive amblyopia in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia.

OBJECTIVES: Amblyopia is a decrease of visual acuity that cannot be attributed to any structural abnormality of the eye or visual system, causing a partial or complete loss of vision due to inadequate stimulation in early life. Citicoline has been reported to improve visual acuity in amblyopic eyes as adjuvant treatment. This study was aimed to determine the effectiveness of citicoline in pediatric patients with refractive amblyopia in ophthalmology daily practices. METHODS: This was a retrospective-descriptive study with a time limited sampling method. This study was conducted at Surabaya Eye Clinic, East Java, Indonesia, by reviewing medical records for the period of January 2018 to December 2019. RESULTS: A total of 34 eyes were included in the study with the majority aged five years (41.2%) and six years (35.3%). The severity of amblyopia varied among patients, 21 eyes (61.76%) had mild amblyopia, seven eyes (20.59%) had moderate amblyopia, and two eyes (5.88%) had severe amblyopia. The duration of given therapy also varied, 18 eyes (52.94%) were given 3 months therapy, two eyes were given 4 months therapy, 12 eyes were given 6 months therapy, and two eyes were given 8 months therapy. Citicoline was found effective in mild and moderate amblyopia and for the duration of 3 and 6 months (p<0.05). In others group who did not showed statistically significant improvement was due to inadequate samples but clinically significant improvement was noted. CONCLUSIONS: Citicoline therapy resulted in a clinically and statistically improvement in refractive amblyopia patients.

Correlation between the exposure time to mobile devices and the prevalence of evaporative dry eyes as one of the symptoms of computer vision syndrome among Senior High School students in East Java, Indonesia.

OBJECTIVES: Computer vision syndrome (CVS) is a group of various eye and vision-related problems from prolonged use of mobile devices. Symptoms include dry eyes, blurred vision, eye strain, headache, and also neck and shoulder pain. This study was carried out to analyze the correlation between the exposure time of High Energy Visible (HEV) from mobile devices' use and the prevalence of evaporative dry eyes in young age. METHODS: An observational cross-sectional study was done using quota sampling method for 100 High School students. Data collection was performed using questionnaire to identify daily use of mobile devices (hours) and duration for using mobile devices (years). A classification was determined as mild, moderate, and heavy HEV exposure. Evaporative dry eyes were diagnosed using tear break-up time test (TBUT) of less than 10 s for both eyes. RESULTS: Ninety-four students participated in this study. A total of 82 students (87.2%) experienced evaporative dry eyes. There were 11 students (11.7%) who had dry eyes with mild exposure, 18 students (19.1%) had dry eyes with moderate exposure, and 53 students (56.4%) had dry eyes with heavy exposure. A chi square analysis showed all HEV exposures have similar risk to the prevalence of dry eyes among High School students (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The risk of developing evaporative dry eyes, as one of the symptoms of CVS in young age with normal tear production, could be induced even with minimal exposure to mobile devices.