Optometry and vision science : official publication of the American Academy of Optometry
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Comparative Study
Comparison of suppression, stereoacuity, and interocular differences in visual acuity in monovision and acuvue bifocal contact lenses.
The relationship between visual acuity and stereoacuity has been well documented: as binocular visual acuity increases, stereoacuity improves. We compared interocular differences in visual acuity and stereoacuity in two presbyopic soft contact lens modalities, monovision and a new soft bifocal contact lens, the Acuvue Bifocal. The Acuvue Bifocal is hypothesized to show a smaller interocular acuity difference, increased stereoacuity, and decreased suppression over monovision at distance and near. ⋯ In this study, correcting presbyopia with the Acuvue Bifocal versus monovision resulted in a statistically significant decrease in the interocular difference in visual acuity at distance and near. The decreased interocular difference in visual acuity improved certain aspects of binocularity as demonstrated by a decrease in suppression and an increase in stereoacuity.
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This report reviews the causes of ocular pain and discusses the pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, efficacy, adverse effects, and dosage of tramadol, a novel non-narcotic oral analgesic. Tramadol is a synthetic analog of codeine with a dual mechanism of action that involves agonist activity at the mu opioid receptor, as well as inhibition of monoaminergic (norepinephrine and serotonin) re-uptake. Unlike opiate analgesics, tramadol has very low propensity toward physical dependence. ⋯ Tramadol appears to be an effective analgesic agent for pain control due to postoperative surgical trauma, as well as in various chronic malignant and nonmalignant disease states. Tramadol has shown variable effectiveness in the control of pain related to dental procedures. The usefulness of tramadol in pain states from ophthalmic origin has yet to be clinically established.
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Central field loss (CFL) and cataract both decrease visual acuity. For patients with CFL, visual acuity is further reduced when the acuity target is more visually complex. ⋯ There was little difference in visual acuity between the letters alone and flanked letters, and visual acuity was best for words under all vision conditions. The cataract had a greater impact on visual acuity when the subject's central visual field was clear (normal vision) than when it was occluded by the simulated scotoma.
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Comparative Study
Prevalence of chief complaints in a pediatric clinic population.
To determine the type and frequency of chief complaints reported by parents of pediatric patients younger than 8 years of age in an optometry clinic. There have been many reports on prevalence of pediatric eye and vision disorders; however, the frequency of presenting complaints has not been carefully investigated. ⋯ There was a large percentage of patients presenting for routine vision care, which may represent an encouraging trend in public education efforts concerning children's vision care needs. The relative frequency of chief complaints in each age category prepares the eye care practitioner to address common parental concerns. This information can help to improve vision care education and services for the pediatric population.