ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to assess the efficacy of oral fluoxetine therapy in improving the visual function of amblyopic patients aged between 10 and 40 years old. METHODS: In this double-blinded, randomized, controlled trial (IRCT2016052428046N1; registered retrospectively), 40 eligible participants with anisometropic or mixed amblyopia were randomly assigned to either fluoxetine or placebo groups. Participants with anisometropia and logMAR best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA) worse than 0.2 logMAR in the amblyopic eye or at least a two-line of difference in the BSCVA between the fellow eyes were included. Participants with significant ocular or systemic diseases were excluded. In both groups, the better eye of each patient was patched for 4-6 h a day during the study period. Participants in the treatment group were treated with oral fluoxetine for 3 months. Change in the Snellen BSCVA (after 3 months) was regarded as the primary outcome measure. RESULTS: Data from 20 participants in the fluoxetine group and 15 participants from the placebo group were analyzed (aged 11-37 years). The magnitude of improvement in visual acuity (from baseline to 3 months after treatment) was significantly higher in the fluoxetine group (0.240 ± 0.068 logMAR; 2.4 line-gain) compared with the control group (0.120 ± 0.086 logMAR; 1.2 line-gain). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests beneficial effects of fluoxetine in the management of adult and adolescent amblyopia.
Subject(s)
Amblyopia/drug therapy , Fluoxetine/administration & dosage , Refraction, Ocular/physiology , Visual Acuity , Administration, Oral , Adolescent , Adult , Amblyopia/physiopathology , Child , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Double-Blind Method , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Male , Retrospective Studies , Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors/administration & dosage , Treatment Outcome , Young AdultABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Urinary catheterization is one of the main measures used to treat and care for hospitalized patients. Several complications have been attributed to the presence of latex with routine Foley catheters. Therefore, some studies have recommended that Nelatone catheters be substituted for the ordinary Foley catheters to prevent these complications. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to compare the rates of urinary tract infection (UTI) in rabbits catheterized either with Foley or with Nelatone catheters. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was conducted on 60 rabbits that were randomly assigned to three groups of twenty. The first group was catheterized using Nelatone catheter; the second group was catheterized using Foley catheter and the third group was studied without performing any catheterization. After seven days, urine samples were collected using suprapubic aspiration and were sent to the laboratory for culture. Descriptive statistics were calculated. Moreover, chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were used for data analysis. RESULTS: At the end of the study, four cases in the Nelatone group and 12 cases in the Foley group presented with UTI (P = 0.01). No positive urine cultures were found in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The Nelatone catheters, compared with the Foley ones, had a lower risk of UTI in the long term use. Verifying this claim by further studies can have an important role in reducing UTIs in patients using urinary catheters.