Profile of patients presenting for cataract surgery in the UK: national data collection

AIMS/METHODS: A national data collection exercise was carried out in more than 100 hospital eye service units within the UK to provide clinical and administrative information on patients undergoing cataract surgery. This included patient clinical data such as visual acuity at the time of wait listing and at the time of admission for surgery, presence of other eye disorders, other serious medical disorders, and data on waiting time and type of admission. RESULTS: The profiles of the 18 454 patients aged 50 years or older are reported. Findings of particular note were as follows. At the time of wait listing for cataract surgery 31% had visual acuity of 6/12 or better, 54% had visual acuity between 6/18 and 6/60, and 15% had less than 6/60 vision. Considering those who had visual acuity of 6/12 or better at the time of wait listing, by the time of admission for surgery, the vision deteriorated to 6/18-6/60 in 33% and in a further 3% the vision deteriorated to below 6/60. In patients with moderately poor visual acuity (<6/12-6/60) at the time of wait listing, 13% had less than 6/60 vision by the time of admission for surgery. CONCLUSION: This type of data collection and reporting exercise provides new material that can be used in the planning and provision of cataract surgery services in the UK.     

Severe osteopenia with recurrent fractures after bone marrow transplant for Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome: a case report

Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) is a rare inherited disorder characterised by thrombocytopenia, eczema, and immunodeficiency. Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is a well-established modality of treatment now routinely used and often curative. We report the case of a boy who developed osteopenia and sustained multiple long-bone fractures over a 5-year period after bone marrow transplant for WAS. The femora and tibiae of both lower limbs were involved with a clinical presentation similar to osteogenesis imperfecta. After commencing calcitriol treatment at the age of 8 years, the patient has not sustained any further fractures. He is now 11 years old. Although short-term changes in bone metabolism after BMT have been documented, the occurrence of repeated fractures associated with osteopenia has not been previously reported.     

Longitudinal neurological follow-up of a group of HIV-seropositive and HIV-seronegative hemophiliacs: results from the hemophilia growth and development study

BACKGROUND: Boys and young men with hemophilia treated with factor infusions before 1985 had a substantial risk of acquiring the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. This study was designed to assess the effects of HIV and hemophilia per se on neurological function in a large cohort of subjects with hemophilia, and to investigate the relationships between neurological disease and death during follow-up. METHODS: Three hundred thirty-three boys and young men (207 HIV seropositive and 126 HIV seronegative) were evaluated longitudinally in a multicenter, multidisciplinary study. Neurological history and examination were conducted at baseline and annually for 4 years. The relationship between neurological variables, HIV serostatus, CD4+ cell counts, and vital status at the conclusion of the study was examined using logistic regression models. RESULTS: The risks of nonhemophilia-associated muscle atrophy, behavior change, and gait disturbance increased with time in immune compromised HIV-seropositive subjects compared with HIV seronegative or immunologically stable HIV-seropositive subjects. The risk of behavior change in immune compromised HIV-seropositive hemophiliacs, for example, rose to 60% by year 4 versus 10% to 17% for the other study groups. Forty-five subjects (13.5%), all of whom were HIV seropositive, died by year 4. Subjects who died had had increased risks of hyperreflexia, nonhemophilia-associated muscle atrophy, and behavior change. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that immune compromised, HIV-seropositive hemophiliacs have high rates of neurological abnormalities over time and that neurological abnormalities were common among subjects who later died. By contrast, immunologically stable HIV-seropositive subjects did not differ from the HIV-seronegative participants. Hemophilia per se was associated with progressive abnormalities of gait, coordination, and motor function.     

Extradural dermoid tumours of the posterior fossa

Dermoid tumours in children usually occur in two locations: at the anterior fontanelle and on the occipital squama. An exceptional site of origin for a posterior fossa dermoid cyst is the extradural space. There are only six previous cases of this situation reported in the literature. A series of 103 subscalp and calvarial masses in children were reviewed and three children are reported with extradural dermoids of the posterior fossa, which communicated with the skin through midline occipital dermal sinuses. All three children were seen after the rapid growth or the formation of an abscess in a previously noted occipital subcutaneous mass present since birth. Although computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging showed the dermal sinus and the intracranial tumour, these studies were unable to ascertain the intradural or extradural nature of the tumours, their exact origin only being established at operation. Histopathological study showed preclinical signs of infection in the two patients that had not yet formed an abscess. It is suggested that early neurosurgical treatment of these neoplasms should be done to prevent the development of severe intracranial infection. The previously reported simplicity of surgical removal of occipital extradural dermoids was not confirmed in this series.     

Using the cardiac depression scale in men recovering from coronary artery bypass surgery

Aims. To examine the utility and validate the use of the Cardiac Depression Scale in patients who had first‐time coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Background. The Beck Depression Inventory, though frequently used, may not be sufficiently sensitive for use in cardiac patients. The Cardiac Depression Scale has been shown to identify the range of depression in medical cardiac patients. Design. Survey. Methods. The Beck Depression Inventory and Cardiac Depression Scale were administered to 120 men at hospital discharge, as well as six, 12 and 36 weeks postoperatively. Cronbach’s α scores were calculated for the measures at each point. Changes in scores over time were analysed using repeated measures analysis of variance. Associations between the measures scores were calculated using Pearson product–moment correlations. Agreement between the measures’ dichotomised scores (depression/no depression) was examined using Cohen’s Kappa statistic. Results. Internal consistency was similar for the Beck Depression Inventory (0·793–0·904) and Cardiac Depression Scale (0·859–0·910). Depression scores decreased over time with the Beck Depression Inventory [F(2·50, 175·29) = 22·27, p < 0·001] and Cardiac Depression Scale [F(2·68, 190·37) = 13·18, p < 0·001]. The measures had similar power [Cohen’s f = 0·65 (Beck Depression Inventory) and 0·43 (Cardiac Depression Scale)] to reveal changes over time. The continuous scores were highly correlated at each point [0·737 (p < 0·001)–0·819 (p < 0·001)]. However, when dichotomised scores were compared, the chance corrected level of agreement was less impressive [0·198 (p = 0·014)–0·381 (p < 0·001)]. Conclusions. The Cardiac Depression Scale may have utility for use with surgical cardiac patients. However, continued examination of this measure of depression is warranted. Relevance to clinical practice. Given the prevalence of depression and its negative impact on coronary artery disease, it is important to identify even mild depression in cardiac patients. Using a measure of depression specifically for cardiac patients, rather than a generic measure, may best accomplish this goal.