Reliability and usability of telemedicine evaluations for facial dystonia.

This study investigated telemedicine reliability and usability in evaluating facial dystonia grading and treatment complications. Eighty-two telemedicine recordings from 43 adults with blepharospasm (12, 28%) and hemifacial spasm (31, 72%) were obtained (mean age 64.5 ± 9.3 years, 32 females [64%]). Two recorded in-hospital telemedicine visits were arranged with in-person visits at baseline and 4-6 weeks. After 8 weeks, neuro-ophthalmologists who performed the in-person visits re-evaluated the telemedicine video records. Intra-rater agreements in assessing spasm gradings were moderate (severity: kappa = 0.42, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.21-0.62; frequency: kappa = 0.41, 95% CI 0.21-0.61) with substantial agreement in detecting lagophthalmos (kappa = 0.61, 95% CI 0.36-0.86). Adding symptoms to signs increased sensitivity and negative predictive value (NPV) in detecting lagophthalmos (67%-100% and 94%-100%) and drooping lips (38%-75% and 94%-96%), respectively. Thai version Telehealth Usability Questionnaire showed high mean usability score of 6.5 (SD 0.8) out of 7. Telemedicine could further be developed as an alternative platform to evaluate facial dystonia.

Congenital Corneal Staphyloma: A Comprehensive Histopathologic Assessment Including Associated Anterior Segment Abnormalities.

Congenital corneal staphyloma is a rare congenital malformation with guarded visual potential. The cornea is opaque, markedly ectatic, and lined by uveal tissue with a variety of associated anterior segment abnormalities. In this case report, the detailed histopathology of this condition is highlighted with an unusual finding of the malformed lens. [J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. 2024;61(3):e28-e32.].

Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated optic neuritis with COVID-19 infection: A case report and literature review.

Purpose: To demonstrate the association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and MOG antibody associated optic neuritis. Observations: A 35-year-old Thai woman presented with acute blurred vision of her left eye with pain on eye movement for six days and had dry cough for one week before the onset of visual loss. Her visual acuity was 20/32 in the right eye and counting fingers with a RAPD in the left eye. She had bilateral disc swelling, more prominent on the left eye. A CT scan of the brain and orbits showed swollen optic nerve sheath complex both eyes. Serology test was positive for serum anti-myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody. Her nasopharyngeal swab for SARS-CoV-2 PCR was also positive. The diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 associated MOG antibody optic neuritis was made. Conclusions and importance: This case of MOG antibody associated optic neuritis after COVID-19 infection, along with several other cases reported in the literature, suggests that there may be an association between COVID-19 infection and MOG antibody-associated disease. However, larger case-controlled studies are required to confirm this association.

Ocular Sparganosis: The First Report of Spirometra ranarum in Thailand.

A 22-year-old Thai man from the Northeast region presented with acute eye swelling, itching, and discharge on his left eye. He was suspected of having gnathostomiasis and treated with albendazole and prednisolone for 3 weeks. Nine months later, he was treated with high-dose oral prednisolone for the preliminary and differential diagnoses with thyroid-associated orbitopathy and lymphoma. He had been administered prednisolone intermittently over a few years. Then he developed a painless movable mass at the left upper eyelid and recurrent pseudotumor oculi was suspected. The surgical removal of the mass was performed. A white pseudosegmented worm revealed a definite diagnosis of ocular sparganosis by a plerocercoid larva. Molecular diagnosis of the causative species was made based on the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene. Proper technique of extraction and amplification of short fragments DNA from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue successfully identified parasite species. The result from the sequencing of the PCR-amplified cox1 fragments in this study showed 99.0% sequence homology to Spirometra ranarum. This is the first report of S. ranarum in Thailand.

Foveal and parafoveal choroidal thickness pattern measuring by swept source optical coherence tomography.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the choroidal thickness (CT) in foveal and parafoveal regions in Thai adults using swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT). METHODS: We enrolled healthy volunteers ≥18 years of age from King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Thailand, during September 2015 to March 2016. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) of the macula was performed, and subfoveal CT was measured manually using a line scan. Average thicknesses of retinal and choroidal layers in regions of the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study grid were measured automatically. A multivariate analysis was conducted to determine correlations between CTs in the foveal and parafoveal regions and retinal layers. RESULTS: Altogether, 144 eyes from 144 subjects (29 men, 115 women; mean age 41 years) were studied. The mean foveal CT was 282.4 ± 13.8 µm. It was thicker in the temporal fovea than in the nasal fovea (p < 0.001) and thicker in men than in women. Multivariate analysis showed that age and sex were significantly negatively correlated with the thickness of the retina, ganglion cell layer, outer retinal layer, and choroid but not of the nerve fiber layer. Regression analysis revealed that the CT decreased approximately 1.5 µm per year. CONCLUSIONS: Age and sex significantly influence choroidal thickness. Macular CT in a healthy eye thins with age. CT decreases with age faster at distances away from the foveal center than at the center. Subfoveal CT was greater than the mean CT. Parafoveal CT should be evaluated to identify specific retinal-choroidal disease.

Racial/ethnic disparities in gallbladder cancer receipt of treatments.

BACKGROUND: Gallbladder cancer is a rare malignancy, yet it has a dismal prognosis. Overall survival has improved in all races/ethnicities except Hispanics and blacks. Despite improvements in gallbladder cancer management, it is not clear whether racial/ethnic disparities in stage at diagnosis and treatments exist that could potentially be the source of survival disparities. The purpose of this study was to examine race/ethnicity-specific trends in the stage of disease and receipt of treatments among adult gallbladder cancer patients in the US. METHODS: Using the 2000-2013 Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) 18 registries in the US. Race/ethnicity-specific cancer stage at diagnosis and treatments received among adults with gallbladder cancer were evaluated. Differences in gallbladder cancer stage at presentation, treatment modalities and number of lymph nodes (LN) removed among each race/ethnicity were evaluated using multivariate logistic regression models. RESULTS: A total of 7,507 patients with gallbladder cancer were included. There were no racial/ethnic disparities in stage at diagnosis. With regard to disparities in treatments, blacks were significantly less likely to receive curative surgery compared to whites [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 0.67, 95% CI: 0.56-0.80; P<0.001]. No racial/ethnic disparities in radiation therapy were observed. In patients undergoing curative surgery, Hispanics were significantly less likely to have optimal LN clearance compared to whites (AOR 0.59, 95% CI: 0.47-0.74; P<0.001). After stratification into 2-time periods (2000 to 2006 and 2007 to 2013), racial/ethnic disparities in treatments seemed to be more pronounced over time. CONCLUSIONS: Among US adults with gallbladder cancer, no racial/ethnic disparities in stage at diagnosis were observed. However, blacks, and Hispanics were less likely to receive curative surgery, and optimal LN clearance than Whites, which are consistent with the lack of survival improvements in those groups and they should be target groups for future studies to address treatment disparities.

A Cross-Sectional Study on Intestinal Parasitic Infections in Children in Suburban Public Primary Schools, Saraburi, the Central Region of Thailand.

Intestinal parasitic infection rate among school-aged children in Thailand has been decreasing. However, certain intestinal parasites remain problematic in some regions. This cross-sectional study was conducted between February and September 2016 in three suburban government primary schools (KK, BR, and HK), Saraburi, Thailand. Stool was collected from 263 asymptomatic subjects (4-15 years old), using simple direct smear, formalin-ether concentration, Boeck and Drbohlav's Locke-Egg-Serum (LES) medium culture, and agar plate culture. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data about lifestyle and socioeconomic status. The overall rate of intestinal parasites was 22.1% (15.6% single infection and 6.5% multiple infections). The helminths involving the digestive system found were Strongyloides stercoralis (1.5%) and Opisthorchis viverrini (0.4%). For protozoan infection, the major cause was Blastocystis hominis (17.5%). The other protozoa included Endolimax nana (4.6%), Entamoeba coli (3.4%), Entamoeba histolytica/Entamoeba dispar (1.1%), and Giardia intestinalis (0.8%). The sensitivity for the detection of B. hominis increased with the LES culture technique. The infection rate of each organism was not significantly different among the three schools except for B. hominis which showed the highest prevalence in the HK school (P = 0.001). This was correlated with the questionnaire results in which the HK school showed the highest risk of drinking contaminated water (P = 0.004). The present study emphasized the persistent problems of protozoan infections among suburban school-aged children. Lifestyle was still an important factor for intestinal parasitic infections among suburban school-aged Thai children in this study. Health education as well as routine surveillance was necessary to control the infections.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease as a risk factor for cholangiocarcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been recently identified as a risk factor of gastrointestinal tract cancers, especially hepatocellular carcinoma, and colorectal cancer. Whether NAFLD is a risk factor for cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) remains inconclusive. The aim of this study is to determine a potential association between NAFLD and CCA, stratifying by its subtypes; intrahepatic CCA (iCCA), and extrahepatic CCA (eCCA). METHODS: A search was conducted for relevant studies published up to April 2017 using MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus and Cochrane databases. Odds ratio (OR) and adjusted OR with 95% confidence interval (CI) were estimated using a random-effects model. Subgroup analyses were conducted with study characteristics. RESULTS: Seven case-control studies were included in the analysis, with a total of 9,102 CCA patients (5,067 iCCA and 4,035 eCCA) and 129,111 controls. Overall, NAFLD was associated with an increased risk for CCA, with pooled OR of 1.95 (95%CI: 1.36-2.79, I 2 =76%). When classified by subtypes, NAFLD was associated with both iCCA and eCCA, with ORs of 2.22 (95%CI: 1.52-3.24, I 2 =67%) and 1.55 (95%CI: 1.03-2.33, I 2 =69%), respectively. The overall pooled adjusted ORs were 1.97 (95%CI: 1.41-2.75, I 2 =71%), 2.09 (95%CI, 1.49-2.91, I 2 =42%) and 2.05 (95%CI, 1.59-2.64, I 2 =0%) for all CCAs, iCCA, and eCCA, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis suggests that NAFLD may potentially increase the risk of CCA development. The magnitude of NAFLD on CCA risk is greater for iCCA than eCCA subtype, suggestive of a common pathogenesis of iCCA and hepatocellular carcinoma. Further studies to confirm this association are warranted. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The protocol for this study was registered with PROSPERO (International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews; no. CRD42016046573).

Risk factors for delayed colonic post-polypectomy bleeding: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: Delayed post-polypectomy bleeding (PPB) is an infrequent but serious adverse event after colonoscopic polypectomy. Several studies have tried to identify risk factors for delayed PPB, with inconsistent results. This meta-analysis aims to identify significant risk factors for delayed PPB. METHODS: MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were searched through January 2016 for studies that investigated the risk factors for delayed PPB. Pooled odds ratio (OR) for categorical variables and mean differences (MD) for continuous variables and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using a random-effect model, generic inverse variance method. The between-study heterogeneity of effect size was quantified using the Q statistic and I 2. RESULTS: Twelve articles involving 14,313 patients were included. The pooled delayed PPB rate was 1.5% (95%CI, 0.7-3.4%), I 2 = 96%. Cardiovascular disease (OR = 1.55), hypertension (OR = 1.53), polyp size > 10 mm (OR = 3.41), and polyps located in the right colon (OR = 1.60) were identified as significant risk factors for delayed PPB, whereas age, sex, alcohol use, smoking, diabetes, cerebrovascular disease, pedunculated morphology, and carcinoma histology were not. CONCLUSIONS: Cardiovascular disease, hypertension, polyp size, and polyp location were associated with delayed PPB. More caution is needed when removing polyps in patients with these risk factors. Future studies are warranted to determine appropriate preventive hemostatic measures in these patients.

Heparin-bridging therapy and risk of post-polypectomy bleeding: Meta-analysis of data reported by Japanese colonoscopists.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Peri-procedural bridging (PPB) with heparin is recommended for patients with high thromboembolic risk who need to withhold antithrombotic therapy for colonoscopic polypectomy. However, little is known about the bleeding risk from heparin-bridging therapy itself. METHODS: MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were searched through January 2017 for studies that compared the risk of PPB in patients who received heparin-bridging therapy in lieu of antithrombotic agents for colonoscopic polypectomy and those who discontinued antithrombotic agents without receiving heparin. Pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using a random-effects model, generic inverse variance method. Between-study heterogeneity was quantified using the Q statistic and I2 . RESULTS: A total of five studies consisting of 2601 patients were identified. A significantly increased risk of PPB among bridged patients compared to non-bridged patients was demonstrated with a pooled OR of 8.29 (95% CI, 4.96-13.87). Statistical heterogeneity was low with I2 of 0%. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrated a significantly increased risk of PPB among patients who underwent colonoscopic polypectomy and received heparin-bridging therapy in lieu of antithrombotic agents compared to patients who did not receive it.