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Purpose. To evaluate parent knowledge of screening and genetic testing for retinoblastoma and its potential correlation with demographics, clinical features, and socioeconomical factors. Methods. It was a cross-sectional study conducted at the ocular oncology unit of a tertiary ophthalmic center in Southern China. A face-to-face interview was administered to parents of retinoblastoma children during hospitalization. Parent knowledge was assessed using the sum score of a 7-item questionnaire. Demographics and socioeconomic status were collected from the interview, and clinical data were retrieved from the medical records. Results. A total of 126 parents of retinoblastoma children were included. Parents accurately answered 66.7% to 84.9% of each item in the questionnaire. Only 37 (29.4%) parents correctly answered all 7 questions. Parent knowledge was positively correlated with education, but it was not associated with patients' laterality, sex, or household income. Physicians and the Internet were the major sources of parental health-related information. During the median follow-up of 492 days, 13 (61.9%) of 21 patients in the full-score group without genetic testing at baseline actually conducted testing during follow-up compared to 29 of 67 (43.3%) in the less-than-full-score group (P = 0.136). Conclusion. Overall parent knowledge about retinoblastoma screening and genetic testing was moderate. Higher education was associated with greater parent knowledge. Future studies should validate our findings in other populations, especially in those with different cultural background and healthcare systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. For so long, corneal diseases have been known as one of the leading causes to blindness in the global. This blindness might be due to failure to accept the corneal transplantation. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the prevalence and the root challenges for corneal transplantation acceptance at the University of Gondar tertiary eye care and training center, Ethiopia. Methods. An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among patients who had an indication for corneal transplantation at the University of Gondar tertiary eye care and training center since January 1, 2017, up to October 30, 2018. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data and entered into Epi-Info 7 software and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Simple logistic regression was used to identify the associated factors of corneal transplantation acceptance. Associations between outcome and exposure variables were expressed by the adjusted odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval and p value <0.05. Result. A total of 116 patients with a mean age of 51 (±21) years participated in the study. The overall acceptance level of corneal transplantation was only 38.8% (95% CI: 29.93, 47.66). Patients with poor knowledge [AOR = 2.41; 95% CI: 1.90, 6.48] and an unfavorable attitude [AOR = 6.33; 95% CI: 2.42, 16.54] were significantly associated with the acceptance of corneal transplantation. Conclusion. The study revealed that the corneal transplantation acceptance level was very low. Hence, the government and other concerned stakeholders should give due emphasis to the awareness creation and behavior change communication strategies to increase the acceptance level of corneal transplantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To measure the prevalence of amblyopia and amblyogenic factors among primary school children and to evaluate distance visual acuity (VA) as a screening test to detect amblyopia and define its cutoff value. Subjects and Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted on primary school children in two schools in Central Cairo. Children underwent assessment of visual acuity using Landolt broken ring. Comprehensive ophthalmologic examination was performed for amblyopia suspects at the Ophthalmology Department of Ain Shams University Hospitals, including reassessment of best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) using the same chart. Results. A total of 352 children were examined. Reduced screening VA (amblyopia suspect) was detected in 47 subjects (13.35%) proved amblyopia after comprehensive examination was 1.98% (7 cases). Refractive errors (REs) were present in all suspected and proved amblyopia cases (100%) but was only present in 11.6% of nonamblyopic students (P<0.05). The prevalence of hyperopia in the whole sample was 3.6%, and was 27.6% in subjects with RE. Thirty percent of hyperopic eyes were amblyopic. The prevalence of myopia was 9.3% of the whole sample and 70% of students with RE. Only 9% of myopic eyes were amblyopic. Mild to moderate amblyopia (VA better than 0.2log MAR) was 42.9%, while severe amblyopia represented 57.1%. Conclusion. This study emphasizes the importance of school-based eye care system targeting the detection of amblyopia by application of a fast screening distance VA test with a cutoff value of high sensitivity at log MAR 0.539 (Snellen′s VA equivalent 6/18). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]