Vison

Week in review: Preschool mobile vision screening, vision impairment in older adults, kidney function and AMD





Comprehensive Ophthalmology, Cornea/External Disease, Pediatric Ophth/Strabismus, Retina/Vitreous

A weekly roundup of ophthalmic news from around the web.

A community preschool mobile vision screening program identifies unmet needs. The University of California Irvine’s community screening program, EyeMobile for Children, provides free amblyopia and refractive error screening for all preschoolers in Orange County, as well as follow-up comprehensive ophthalmic exams, prescriptions, and free eyeglasses. The program was rolled out for the 2019–2020 school year, and in that time 5226 children were screened, with 546 children referred for further examination. Of that referral population, 246 children received their first pair of eyeglasses. One hundred sixty-nine children were found to have at least 1 amblyopia risk factor, most commonly astigmatism and hyperopia. Free mobile screening programs such as these can help overcome some of the barriers to early childhood vision care. Clinical Ophthalmology

More than one-quarter of older American adults have vision impairment. Data from the 2021 National Health and Aging Trends Study, consisting of a nationally representative panel of Medicare beneficiaries (n = 3017), indicate that approximately 28% of respondents aged ≥71 years had some form of vision impairment (VI); i.e., any combination of near or distance VI or contrast sensitivity. The prevalence of VI was associated with increasing age, non-White race, less education, and lower income levels. These results may be useful for public health specialists as they create vision health surveillance programs throughout their communities. JAMA Ophthalmology

Monitor kidney function in your patients with AMD, as the condition is a significant risk factor for end-stage renal disease (ESRD). A South Korean population-based cohort study investigated the 10-year risk of ESRD among patients with AMD. Over 4.2 million people were enrolled in the study, with 53,617 having AMD at baseline. The presence of AMD was linked to a 33% greater risk of developing ESRD over the study period, with that risk increasing in patients with AMD and visual disability (adjusted hazard ratio 2.05). The authors conclude that these findings have “clinical implications on disease prevention and risk factor management of ESRD in patients with AMD and visual disability, suggesting shared risk factors and pathogenic mechanisms between AMD and ESRD.” Scientific Reports

Nearly 20% of recipient corneas may be positive for the herpes virus. Investigators in Germany conducted a retrospective study of 112 patients who underwent penetrating keratoplasty (PK) at a single center to determine the prevalence of the herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) and the varicella zoster virus (VZV) among corneal transplant recipients. Twenty-one of the 112 patients had a history of herpetic keratitis (HK) prior to PK. In the patients with no HK history, 13% of recipient corneas were positive for HSV-1 DNA; this number rose to 62% in the patients with an HK history, leading to a total prevalence rate of 19%. Routine HSV-1 and VZV screening of recipient corneas is recommended to avoid graft failure and other HSV-1–associated complications. Journal of Clinical Medicine



Source link

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button