The British journal of ophthalmology
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Artificial tears are first-line therapy for patients with dry eye symptoms. It is not known, however, which patient factors associate with a positive response to therapy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether certain ocular and systemic findings are associated with a differential subjective response to artificial tears. ⋯ Both ocular and systemic (non-ocular) pain complaints are associated with a differential subjective response to artificial tears.
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Comparative Study
Factors influencing big-bubble formation during deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty in keratoconus.
To investigate recipient and operative factors that can influence the rate of achieving a bare Descemet's membrane (DM) during deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) for keratoconus. ⋯ The rate of successful big-bubble formation was 79.2% in keratoconus. Among the different factors, recipient sex and trephination size significantly influenced this rate. Females had a lower probability of big-bubble formation, and a large trephination size was associated with an increase in the probability of achieving a bare DM.
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To develop a Turkish version of the 25-item Cardiff Visual Ability Questionnaire for Children (CVAQC) and to evaluate the validity and reliability of the questionnaire. ⋯ The Turkish version of the CVAQC is a valid, reliable, and unidimensional questionnaire for partially sighted children aged 6-18 years.
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To evaluate whether medical students who have expressed a strong desire to pursue ophthalmology as a career perform simulated ophthalmic surgical tasks to a higher level than medical students whose interests lie elsewhere. ⋯ This study is the first to suggest that medical students with a strong career interest in ophthalmology do not perform microsurgical tasks to a higher level than medical students who have no goal in this area. This also indicates variation in scores between novices, which may serve as a pitfall in the use of simulators as a tool for entry into training.
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As the biological alarm of impending or actual tissue damage, pain is essential for our survival. However, when it is initiated and/or sustained by dysfunctional elements in the nociceptive system, it is itself a disease known as neuropathic pain. While the critical nociceptive system provides a number of protective functions, it is unique in its central role of monitoring, preserving and restoring the optical tear film in the face of evaporative attrition without which our vision would be non-functional. ⋯ The clinical consequences of corneal damage to these nociceptive pathways are determined by the type and location of its pathological elements and can range from the spectrum known as dry eye disease to the centalised oculofacial neuropathic pain syndrome characterised by a striking disparity between the high intensity of symptoms and paucity of external signs. These changes parallel those observed in somatic neuropathic pain. When seen through the neuroscience lens, diseases responsible for inadequately explained chronic eye pain (including those described as dry eye) can take on new meanings that may clarify long-standing enigmas and point to new approaches for developing preventive, symptomatic and disease-modifying interventions for these currently refractory disorders.