Search

Visual electrodiagnostics and eye movement recording are important additional clinical tools in evaluation, diagnosing and management of ophthalmic and neurological disorders. Due to their objectiveness and non-invasiveness they can play an important role in pediatric ophthalmology. The WSPOS (World Society of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus) consensus statement gives insight into basic principles and highlights the clinical application of both visual electrodiagnostic tests and eye movement recording., Competing Interests: None

The only Confederate president, Jefferson Davis, led a long and eventful life. He was a Mississippi planter, a husband, a father, West Point graduate, war hero, congressman, senator, secretary of war, and finally President of the Confederate States of America. In many ways he was a study of contrast with his northern counterpart, Abraham Lincoln. Davis was personally courageous and a rich, educated, southern aristocrat who did not deeply understand the political process or have the refined personal skills necessary to work well with others. Prior to his Presidency he served with distinction in two wars, but as a result of his confederate activity and pro-slavery philosophy he is one of the least discussed famous Americans. Davis's health was a constant problem and he suffered an almost fatal attack of "malaria" in 1836. In the winter of 1857-1858 he again was seriously ill and by the end of February 1858 a chronic, relapsing, ocular inflammatory condition began. Using historical evidence from multiple sources, this paper will propose a diagnosis of the Confederate President's ocular condition and consider how this could have influenced his military and political decisions.

Purpose: To survey paediatric eye care providers to identify current patterns of prescribing for hyperopia. Methods: Paediatric eye care providers were invited, via email, to participate in a survey to evaluate current age‐based refractive error prescribing practices. Questions were designed to determine which factors may influence the survey participant's prescribing pattern (e.g., patient's age, magnitude of hyperopia, patient's symptoms, heterophoria and stereopsis) and if the providers were to prescribe, how much hyperopic correction would they prescribe (e.g., full or partial prescription). The response distributions by profession (optometry and ophthalmology) were compared using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov cumulative distribution function test. Results: Responses were submitted by 738 participants regarding how they prescribe for their hyperopic patients. Most providers within each profession considered similar clinical factors when prescribing. The percentages of optometrists and ophthalmologists who reported considering the factor often differed significantly. Factors considered similarly by both optometrists and ophthalmologists were the presence of symptoms (98.0%, p = 0.14), presence of astigmatism and/or anisometropia (97.5%, p = 0.06) and the possibility of teasing (8.3%, p = 0.49). A wide range of prescribing was observed within each profession, with some providers reporting that they would prescribe for low levels of hyperopia while others reported that they would never prescribe. When prescribing for bilateral hyperopia in children with age‐normal visual acuity and no manifest deviation or symptoms, the threshold for prescribing decreased with age for both professions, with ophthalmologists typically prescribing 1.5–2 D less than optometrists. The threshold for prescribing also decreased for both optometrists and ophthalmologists when children had associated clinical factors (e.g., esophoria or reduced near visual function). Optometrists and ophthalmologists most commonly prescribed based on cycloplegic refraction, although optometrists most commonly prescribed based on both the manifest and cycloplegic refraction for children ≥7 years. Conclusion: Prescribing patterns for paediatric hyperopia vary significantly among eye care providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of the clinical and electrophysiological effects of eye muscle surgery on patients with infantile nystagmus has broadened our knowledge of the disease and its interventions. Prospective, comparative, interventional case series. Twenty-four patients with a vertical head posture because of electrophysiologically diagnosed infantile nystagmus syndrome. The ages ranged from 2.5 to 38 years and follow up averaged 14.0 months. Thirteen patients with a chin-down posture had a bilateral superior rectus recession, inferior oblique myectomy and a horizontal rectus recession or tenotomy. Those 11 with a chin-up posture had a bilateral superior oblique tenectomy, inferior rectus recession and a horizontal rectus recession or tenotomy. Outcome measures included: demography, eye/systemic conditions and preoperative and postoperative; binocular, best optically corrected, null zone acuity, head posture, null zone foveation time and nystagmus waveform changes. Associated conditions were strabismus in 66%, ametropia in 96%, amblyopia in 46% and optic nerve, foveal dysplasia or albinism in 54%. Null zone acuity increased at least 0.1 logMAR in 20 patients ( P < 0.05 group mean change). Patients had significant ( P < 0.05) improvements in degrees of head posture, average foveation time in milliseconds and infantile nystagmus syndrome waveform improvements. This study illustrates a successful surgical approach to treatment and provides expectations of ocular motor and visual results after vertical head posture surgery because of an eccentric gaze null in patients with infantile nystagmus syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To determine whether patients with congenital nystagmus and an anomalous head posture have better binocular visual acuity than such patients without an anomalous head posture. Patients and Methods: This was an observational case series of prospectively collected data for 125 patients with clinical and oculographically confirmed congenital nystagmus. Clinical data were tabulated using computer software. Statistical analyses compared binocular visual acuity with and without the presence of a clinically evident anomalous head posture and visual acuity with and without associated sensory disease. Results: The mean visual acuity was 20/42 (log of the minimal angle of resolution [MAR], 0.32) in patients with an anomalous head posture and 20/83 (logMAR, 0.62) in patients with no anomalous head posture (P < .001). Among patients with disease of the sensory system, those with an anomalous head posture had a mean visual acuity of 20/55 (logMAR, 0.44) and those without an anomalous head posture had a mean visual acuity of 20/108 (logMAR, 0.73; P < .001). Conclusions: Visual acuity was found to be significantly better in patients with congenital nystagmus who had an anomalous head posture versus those without such a head posture. Our findings indicate that the presence of an anomalous head posture in a patient with congenital nystagmus correlates with good vision and thus may be considered a positive prognostic sign in a preverbal child. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]