Treatment of a case with giant eyelid syringomas.

He had a history of multiple asymptomatic flesh-colored papules, which had slowly increased in number and coalesced into plaques, on both upper and lower eyelids. Some of the plaques were giant and mostly coalescent in nature. We excised surgically the giant plaques which were approximately 1.5-2 cm in diameter symmetrically from upper and lower eylids and the remaining plaques were left to be treated with cauterization. Histopathological examination revealed syringoma. Both of the eyelids were observed to have a cosmetically adequate appearence after the surgical intervention.

Rapid healing of a persistent corneal epithelial defect (PCED) with autologous serum treatment.

Autologous serum drop (ASD) is a safe and efficient treatment option for most of the ocular surface diseases. We report a case of a persistent corneal epithelial defect in a patient treated by ASD. A 28 year old male patient presented to our clinic with eye pain and blurry vision in his left eye. Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 20/20 in the right eye and 20/200 in the left eye. Slit lamp examination revealed a central corneal epithelial defect on the left eye and the right eye was normal. Corneal epithelial defect appeared after left upper eyelid chalazion surgery and persisted for 2 months without any response to treatment with eye patching, bandage contact lenses, and artificial eyedrops. We started the treatment with ASD six times daily and preservative-free netilmicin eyedrops four times daily to prevent infection. The drops were used simultaneously with eyepatching for the first two days. The eye was left unpatched after the second day. The corneal epithelial defect resolved after 48 hours. We did not detect a new epithelial defect in the follow up visits. ASD is a quick, safe, and effective treatment option in persistent epithelial defect cases.

Elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in pseudoexfoliation syndrome.

PurposeTo investigate the relationship between serum neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio and pseudoexfoliation syndrome.Materials and methodsThis study was designed as a retrospective analysis. Patients were divided into three groups: 55 patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome (group 1), 19 patients with pseudoexfoliation glaucoma (group 2), and 48 control subjects without pseudoexfoliation syndrome or pseudoexfoliation glaucoma (group 3). The levels of neutrophils and lymphocytes were measured by ABX Pentra DF120/USA biochemical analyzer. The neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio was measured by dividing neutrophil count by lymphocyte count.ResultsThe mean ages of patients were 67.9±8.1 in group 1, 70.6±7.4 in group 2, and 67.3±7.6 in group 3 (P=0.172). Baseline clinical characteristics, such as diabetes and hypertension, were similar among groups. The mean neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio values were 2.08±0.61 in group 1, 2.20±0.58 in group 2, and 1.51±0.57 in group 3. The neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio was significantly higher in group 1 and 2 than the group 3 (P<0.001). In receiver operating characteristics analysis, the area under the curve for neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio was 0.776, and a neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio of >1.72 predicted pseudoexfoliation syndrome with a sensitivity of 77% and specificity of 71%.ConclusionThe elevated neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio is significantly associated with pseudoexfoliation syndrome. This novel and low-cost parameter can provide useful information for the relevant risk evaluation in these patients.

The association of vitamin D deficiency with tear break-up time and Schirmer testing in non-Sjögren dry eye.

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of vitamin D deficiency on tear break-up time (TBUT) and Schirmer test scores and to assess their relationship in non-Sjögren dry-eye patients. METHODS: Thirty-four patients with serum vitamin D deficiency and 21 control subjects with normal vitamin D levels were included in this study. The TBUT and Schirmer-1 test without topical anesthesia were performed to all patients. RESULTS: The mean TBUT were 5.18±2.15 and 7.36±3.10 s and Schirmer scores were 12.18±6.44 and 18.57±8.99 mm in the study and control groups, respectively. TBUT scores and Schirmer-1 results of the study group were significantly lower than the control group (P=0.01 and 0.007, respectively). The mean vitamin D levels were 11.50±1.8 ng/ml in the study group and 32.8±8.72 ng/ml in control group (P=0.001). Dry-eye symptoms were detected in all patients in the study group and 15% of the patients in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that vitamin D deficiency decreases the TBUT and Schirmer test values and may be associated with dry-eye symptoms in non-Sjögren syndrome.

Topical cyclosporine A for the dry eye findings of thyroid orbitopathy patients.

PURPOSE: To determine the beneficial effect of topically administered Cyclosporine A (CsA) for the dry eye findings of thyroid orbitopathy patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This prospective pilot study included 73 eyes of 42 patients with thyroid orbitopathy who had documented dry eye findings. Patients were randomly assigned into two groups: in group 1 (48 eyes), patients received topical artificial tear-drop treatment. In group 2 (25 eyes), patients received topical CsA and artificial tear-drop treatment. During a mean follow-up of 6 months, change in Schirmer's test with aneasthesia, tear break-up-time (BUT) and impression cytology results were analyzed and were compared between groups. RESULTS: The two groups were age (P=0.449) and gender (P=0.942) matched. The Schirmer's test (P=0.441), tear BUT (P=0.718) and impression score (P=0.103) were also similar before the treatment in both groups. In group 1, all three parameters improved significantly with treatment (P<0.001 for all). In group 2, Schirmer's test (P=0.001) and tear BUT (P<0.001) improved, but the impression score (P=0.175) did not change significantly after treatment. The percentage of patients with improved tear BUT (P=0.04) and improved impression score (P<0.001) were higher in group 1. At the end of follow-up, group 1 patients had better Schirmer's test (P=0.004), tear BUT (P=0.021) and impression scores (P<0.001), than group 2 patients. CONCLUSIONS: The combined CsA use with artificial tear drops is not more advantageous than the use of artificial tear drops alone, for the dry eye findings of thyroid orbitopathy patients.

Clinical and demographic evaluation of Behçet disease among different paediatric age groups.

AIM: The aim of the study is to describe the demographic and clinical features of Behçet disease (BD) in paediatric patients. METHODS: The study included 62 patients who presented to the Department of Ophthalmology at Ankara Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey and diagnosed as having BD. These patients were placed into three age groups based on the age at the time of BD presentation: group 1, birth to 10 years old; group 2, 11-15 years old; group 3, 16-20 years old. Among these three age groups, the objective was to identify the ocular and extraocular clinical findings and complications of BD, and to uncover the role of gender, if exists, in the aetiology of the disease. RESULTS: The findings indicated that gender played no significant role in the aetiology of BD. In group 1, a family history of BD was more prevalent, and the most common ocular finding was bilateral anterior uveitis. The most frequent form of ocular involvement in groups 2 and 3 was bilateral panuveitis with retinal vasculitis and retinitis. The majority of disease complications were glaucoma, maculopathy and cataract formation. CONCLUSION: Patient age appeared to define the type of ocular involvement in BD. While anterior uveitis was the most frequent ocular finding in BD patients younger than 10 years, panuveitis was the most frequent in patients older than 10 years. As a family history of BD was more frequent among patients younger than 10 years, family screening for BD is considered critical for early and accurate diagnosis of BD, as well as for the control of its complications.