Online survey to assess computer vision syndrome in children due to excessive screen exposure during the COVID 19 pandemic lockdown.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, the normal daily routine activities of children were restricted as a result of the need to stay indoors. Consequently, children were forced to attend online classes provided by their educational institutions at their homes. Due to the subsequent increased screen exposure, children have started complaining of blurred vision, headache, and symptoms related to computer vision syndrome (CVS), predisposing them to myopia. Objective: To determine the prevalence of CVS symptoms, such as blurring of vision, headache, and watery eyes in children, due to increased screen time during the lockdown period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This was a non-randomized, questionnaire-based study conducted at the ophthalmology department of a tertiary care pediatric hospital. The participants were parents of children aged between 6 and 16 years attending regular school. Enrolled parents were interviewed through a Google Form after completing the online consent in English. Eligible participants were recruited by a circulation of this form through multiple groups on social media, namely, WhatsApp and email. Results: A total of 145 parents participated in the study. The children were classified according to the duration of exposure to digital devices ranging from less than 2 h to less than 6 h daily. There was a significant association between the increase in the number of activities and the development of CVS symptoms in children (r = 0.15; P = 0.036). Conclusion: COVID-19 lockdown has largely affected the lifestyle of school-going children by significantly decreasing their outdoor activities and increased online exposure to screen, thus predisposing them to myopia, ocular ill health, and increased dry eye symptoms. Increased exposure to online screen was detected during this lockdown period of the COVID-19 pandemic; this strongly supports the recommendation to decrease the number of hours of online screen exposure and encourages students to regularly get engaged in outdoor activities.

Metastatic endophthalmitis - Has the trend of causative organism changed in the modern antibiotic era - A Systematic Review.

Endogenous endophthalmitis, EE, a less common form of endophthalmitis, occurs when the microorganisms spread to the eye through the bloodstream, from a septic focus elsewhere in the body, that breaches into the integrity of the eyeball itself. The etiopathogenesis of endogenous endophthalmitis has changed over the past two decades, the aim of this review being to study the changing trends in causative organism in the era of modern antibiotics.

A meta-analysis to study the effect of pan retinal photocoagulation on retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in diabetic retinopathy patients.

Background. Diabetic retinopathy is a microvascular disease, it is associated with changes in peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, these changes being more pronounced in PDR (Proliferative diabetic retinopathy) patients undergoing laser photocoagulation. Objective. To assess changes in peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in proliferative diabetic retinopathy patients using optical coherence tomogram (OCT). Methods. The database search was conducted in June 2018 and continued until October 2018. The search engines used included Pubmed, Medline, OVID and Google Scholar. A meta-analysis of weighted mean difference and standard deviation was conducted. Results. A total of 10 studies containing 377 eyes of PDR patients were selected. The analysis of the included studies revealed no significant effect of PRP on average retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (0.249, 95% CI: -0.985 to 1.483) using OCT. Conclusion. Hence, to conclude, our meta-analysis revealed that there was no significant effect of PRP on RNFL thickness and the impact of PRP could vary. Measurement of peripapillary RNFL thickness may yield erroneous and unpredictable results in this subgroup of patients, further confounding the evaluation of nerve fiber layer damage and its progression.

My child has watering from above his left eye.

Lacrimal fistula can occur due to trauma, iatrogenic or congenital. The most common presentation in patients with congenital lacrimal fistula is epiphora or purulent discharge due to cystic dilatation from secondary infection.