Frequency of Amblyopia in strabismus patients presenting to tertiary care hospital.

Objective: The rationale of study was to find the magnitude of amblyopia with reference to type of squint among the strabismus patients visiting Hayatabad Medical Complex Peshawar, Pakistan. Materials and Methods: After ethical approval, a cross sectional study was carried out in the Department of Ophthalmology, Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar, Pakistan, from April 2022 to October 2022, the total number of patients included being 237. Results: Amblyopia was observed in 113 out of 160 (70.6%) cases of uniocular squint, while in alternating squint it was found to be 11 out of 77 (14.2%). Amblyopia in patients with esotropia was seen in 73.2% (107 out of 146), while 59.3% (54 out of 91) exotropia had associated amblyopia. Conclusion: Strabismus amblyopia leads to developmental arrest of vision in early critical years of life. Permanent visual loss can be avoided with comprehensive screening and detailed examination of strabismic patient.

Comparison of prilocaine/lidocaine cream with piroxicam gel for reducing pain during cannulation of arteriovenous fistula for adults undergoing haemodialysis: A randomized crossover clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Pain is a traumatic experience for most patients on hemodialysis. In this trial, we compared prilocaine/lidocaine cream with piroxicam gel for pain reduction during arteriovenous fistula needling. METHODS: This randomized double-blind crossover clinical trial was done at dialysis unit of a tertiary care hospital from June to August 2022. Adult patients, aged 18-75 years, on maintenance hemodialysis through an arteriovenous fistula were selected randomly. Pain severity during needling of fistula was assessed during initial two hemodialysis sessions without application of any drug. Patients were then randomized into two groups receiving 5% prilocaine/lidocaine cream or 0.5% piroxicam gel 1 h before the next two hemodialysis sessions. After a 7-day washout period, patients crossed over to other groups for another two hemodialysis sessions. Pain was assessed on all these occasions. Primary outcome was reduction in pain with each intervention. RESULTS: There were 32 patients aged 46.44 ± 11.58 years. Pain intensity was 6.69 ± 0.58, 3.13 ± 1.28, and 4.55 ± 1.95 without any medication, prilocaine/lidocaine cream and piroxicam gel respectively. There was greater pain reduction with prilocaine/lidocaine cream than piroxicam gel (3.56 ± 1.35 vs 2.14 ± 1.78; p = 0.001). Local redness with prilocaine/lidocaine cream was reported by one (3.13%) patient, whereas no side effects were seen with piroxicam gel (p = 1.000). CONCLUSION: Prilocaine/lidocaine cream provides better pain relief than piroxicam gel during arteriovenous fistula needling.