Unilateral recurrent pleural effusion in a renal transplant patient

Pleural effusion is a frequent complication in patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD). We report a patient on HD with a novel cause of recurrent unilateral pleural effusion. A 45-year-old female patient on long-term maintenance HD presented to us with recurrent unilateral pleural effusion. She had a history of poor quality dialysis, severe anemia and severe hypertension. Despite correcting these factors and even after undergoing successful renal transplantation, she continued to have recurrent effusion. Left upper extremity venography demonstrated severe stenosis of the subclavian vein and an increased venous flow in the ipsilateral arteriovenous (AV) fistula. Ligation of the AV fistula led to dramatic resolution of the pleural effusion. Hemodialysis patients who develop unexplained pleural effusions ipsilateral to a functioning AV fistula should be investigated for stenosis in the brachiocephalic vein, particularly those patients who have had previous catheterizations of the jugular or subclavian veins on the same side as the effusion. Correcting the stenosis by venous angioplasty and/or ligation of the ipsilateral fistula can dramatically resolve the pleural effusion. A high index of suspicion is required to diagnose this complication for meaningful intervention.     

Correction of pre-existing astigmatism by on-axis incision size modulation in manual small-incision cataract surgery

Purpose:To study the effect of wound size modulation on pre-existing astigmatism by on-axis placement of incision in manual small-incision cataract surgery (MSICS).Methods:In this prospective interventional study conducted at a tertiary care centre, 40 eyes of 40 consecutive senile cataract patients with 1.00–3.00 D corneal astigmatism were enrolled for the study. MSICS by modified Blumenthal’s technique was performed through 6.0, 6.5, and 7.0 mm on-axis incision in 1.0–1.49 D (group A), 1.50–1.99 D (group B), and 2.00–3.00 D (group C) astigmatism, respectively. Surgically induced astigmatism (SIA) was calculated by vector analysis and double angle plots (DAP) at 12 weeks postoperatively.Results:There were 22 males and 18 females with mean age of 58.12 ± 1.18 years. The mean SIA at 12 weeks was 0.85 ± 0.28 D in group A (17 eyes), 1.32 ± 0.65 D in group B (10 eyes), and 1.91 ± 0.69 D in group C (13 eyes). The overall median uncorrected visual acuity was 0.18 (IQR = 0 to 0.2). The mean astigmatism decreased from 1.95 ± 0.74 D to 1.04 + 0.57 D (P = 0.00) in superior incision and from 1.70 + 0.50 D to 0.92 ± 0.45 D (P = 0.00) in temporal incision group with central shift of centroid in all cases.Conclusion:The customization of on-axis external incision size can be used to manage pre-existing corneal astigmatism of less than 3.00 D using both temporal and superior incisions effectively.