Search

Antiamblyopia occlusion therapy relies on compliance. We retrospectively reviewed the charts of 496 amblyopic subjects. Measures of non-compliance included patient reporting and patient records of broken appointments. Out of 496 subjects, 92 (18%) failed to follow the occlusion regimen. Compliance with treatment was analyzed by age group, refractive error and type of strabismus. The failure rate was 82.6% for the unilateral high myopia group and 37.5% for the monofixation syndrome group. The risk for non-compliance appeared to be higher in the 1 to 2-year-old group (37%). The chi 2-test showed the differences to be highly significant (P less than 0.0001). Children having lower initial visual acuity were also significantly less complaint (P less than 0.007). Several factors such as age, parental understanding, initial visual acuity and improvement rate seem to be involved in compliance.

The comparative efficiency of sonography and computerised axial tomography on the diagnosis of retinoblastoma was assessed in 8 consecutive cases. Ocular echography revealed a 100% sensitivity whereas CT scans gave false negatives in 2 out of the 8 cases (80% sensitivity). The value of ultrasound scanning as the diagnostic test of first choice for suspected retinoblastoma is therefore emphasised.

We used a Hertel exophthalmometer to measure the degree of ocular protrusion in 852 subjects who had no history of orbital trauma or disease, endocrine disease, severe myopia, buphthalmos, or craniofacial deformities. The subjects ranged in age from 3 to 10 years. No statistically significant difference was observed between boys and girls or between right and left eyes in each age group. The mean normal protrusion values ranged from 9.11 mm in the 3-year-old group to 11.67 mm in the 10-year-old group. The mean outer orbital margin distance ranged from 78.7 mm in the 3-year-old group to 89.1 mm in the 10-year-old group. The data obtained were tabulated to plot percentile distribution curves of normal exophthalmometric values and outer orbital margin distance in children. No subject had more than 2 mm of asymmetry between the eyes.

Fifty-nine children 1 to 24 months of age with congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction (CNDO) were treated with local hydrostatic massage and antibiotic eye drops. Children 1 to 12 months of age showed a cure rate of 93.3%; only two of them underwent nasolacrimal probing. Children 13 to 24 months of age had a cure rate of 79.3%, and six underwent probing. The initial probings were successful in both age groups. Fifty-one children (86.4%) were thus spared nasolacrimal probing.