Subjective photic phenomena with refractive multifocal and monofocal intraocular lenses. results of a multicenter questionnaire.

PURPOSE: To compare the incidence and severity of photic phenomena after the implantation of the Array(R) (Allergan) refractive multifocal intraocular lens (MIOL) and a monofocal IOL. SETTING: Multicenter study at Kiel, Mainz, Karlsruhe, and Bremerhaven, Germany. METHODS: The study comprised 231 randomly selected patients from 4 study centers. The patients had had uneventful phacoemulsification with implantation of a refractive MIOL (n = 138) or a monofocal IOL (n = 93). By questionnaire, patients were asked whether they experienced light sensations postoperatively (light streaks, halos, flare, flashes, or glare) that had not been noticed preoperatively. Additional questions evaluated whether these phenomena had changed over time and how much they affected the patients' quality of life. RESULTS: Overall, 9% of patients with a monofocal IOL and 41% of those with an MIOL reported photic phenomena that had not been noticed before cataract surgery. Halos and flare were mentioned significantly more often by patients with MIOLs than by those with monofocal IOLs. There was no significant between-group difference in the mention of flashes. Eighteen percent of patients with MIOLs and 4% with monofocal IOLs were slightly or moderately bothered by the photic phenomena, whereas 5% of patients with MIOLs and none in the monofocal group were severely disturbed by the light sensations. CONCLUSION: Subjective photic phenomena were experienced significantly more often by patients who had refractive MIOLs than by those who had monofocal IOLs. The differences in the results of the 4 study centers were probably influenced by different patient selection criteria for the implantation of MIOLs.

[Diagnostic value of sacroiliac-joint scintigraphy in acute iridocyclitis]. / Zur Wertigkeit der szintigraphischen Untersuchung der Iliosakralgelenke bei der akuten Iridozyklitis.

The association between acute iridocyclitis (a.i.) and sacroiliitis/ankylosing spondylitis is well known. Since bone scintigraphy is a sensitive method of detecting sacroiliitis before radiologic evidence of this condition appears, we examined the role of scintiscanning in the investigation of sacroiliitis in patients with a.i. The sacroiliac-joint/sacrum ratio was determined in 30 control subjects and in 21 patients with a.i., who showed no radiologic signs of sacroiliitis. No discrimination between patients with a.i. and control subjects was obtained by scintigraphy, neither did we find any difference in the mean sacroiliac-joint/sacrum ratios between HLA-B-27-positive and HLA-B-27-negative individuals with a.i. This study does not support the claim that patients with a.i. often suffer from clinically and radiologically silent sacroiliitis which would be detected only by scintigraphy. According to our results, regular scintigraphic examinations of the sacroiliac joint in all patients with a.i. are not indicated.