Refraction in the Pediatric Eye Examination

Accurate determination of refractive error is one of the most critical components of a pediatric eye examination. According to the National Eye Institute, refractive errors are the most common causes of correctable reduced vision in children. Children with uncorrected refractive error are more likely to have developmental delays, visual-related academic problems, and poor social skills or interactions. In addition to difficulty seeing, uncorrected refractive errors can contribute to developmental deficits of accommodation, binocular vision, and certain forms of strabismus, amblyopia, and perceptual function. The author provides the clinician an in-depth guide on how to determine the refractive error in pediatric patients. The chapter focuses on the specific techniques, advantages and disadvantages, equipment required, and step-by-step procedures for performing retinoscopy, objective refraction, and subjective refraction on children.

Myopia Management

Myopia is already the most common ocular disorder in the world, and its prevalence continues to increase worldwide. Higher myopic refractive errors are associated with an increased risk of vision-threatening complications, which has led to many investigations into the underlying cause of myopia and the mechanisms of myopia progression in order to prevent or delay the onset of myopia and slow its progression. This chapter briefly reviews ocular development and emmetropization, summarizes the known risk factors for myopia onset and myopia progression, reviews current clinical interventions for controlling myopia, and provides practice management recommendations. Finally, instances of syndromic myopia, which have not been shown to be responsive to myopia control treatments, are reviewed.

Assessment of pattern of refractive errors in infantile esotropia- A single-center cross-sectional study

This was a cross-sectional study conducted to explore the patterns of refractive errors found in infantile esotropia patients from newborns to the age of 15 years, attending the Pediatric clinic of Al-Ibrahim Eye Hospital, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Data was collected on a pre-designed proforma. A total of 79 patients (total of 158 eyes) including 44 males (55%) and 36 females (45%) were recruited. All these patients had infantile esotropia. The study showed out of 79 patients (158 eyes), 89 eyes had hyperopia, 15 eyes had myopic astigmatism, 44 eyes had hyperopic astigmatism, while 4 eyes had mixed astigmatism, and 6 eyes had myopia. The hypermatropia was found to be the most commonly occurring refractive error in infantile esotropia resulting in inward eye deviation.

The Effect of Optical Defocus on the Choroidal Thickness: A Review

The choroid is a heavily vascularized tissue located between the retina and sclera and plays a primary role in ocular metabolism. It has recently been suggested that the choroid has the ability to change its thickness and secretion of growth factors. This may play an important role during visual development by adjusting retinal position during growth to support emmetropisation; however, the mechanism by which changes in choroidal thickness (ChT) occur is unclear. This relationship becomes an interesting topic in the clinical field, although conflicting evidence found that these changes in the choroidal thickness may not be associated with the development of refractive errors. Many reports have investigated the changes in the choroid and related factors that affect the ChT. Thus, this review will summarize the current literature related to choroidal thickness in different refractive error groups, determine the factors that influence the thickness of the choroid, and discuss in detail the relationship between the changes in the ChT and ocular elongation, and therefore, the effect of optical defocus on ChT and the development of the refractive error.

Sweet Potato Leaves Contain Beta Carotene and Lutein for Eye Health

This article discusses the benefits of sweet potato leaves containing beta carotene and lutein for eye health. There are some problems of eyes namely Conjunctivitis, Dry Eyes , Cataract, Glaucoma and Refractive errors (blurred vision). Treatment options include surgery, including laser and traditional eye surgery. Sweet potatoes are high in beta-carotene and anthocyanins, which are powerful antioxidants that can help prevent eyesight loss and support eye health. Beta carotene (provitamin A) and vitamin C are plentiful in yellow sweet potato. The beta carotene and lutein content is beneficial for eye health.

Autism and Visual impairment: A First Approach to a Complex Relationship

Since the first half of the 20th century there has been an interest in the study of the relationship between autism and autistic-like clinical features and with visual impairments. Autism Spectrum disorders are one of the more worldwide-studied neurodevelopmental disorder with an increasing prevalence in the last ten years. Visual impairment is a condition which derives from several causes (genetic, constitutional, injuries, nutritional and environmental ones). Again, it is a kind of spectrum and an overarching category, because visual impairments range from refractive errors (myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism), to amblyopia, strabismus, and to partial and total blindness. Since the first study of Keeler (1956) which described autistic-like patterns in five preschool children who were totally blind due to retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), a growing number of researchers addressed the relationship between autism and visual impairment. In this paper we focused on it, aiming to discuss on some lessons learned in this field and to discuss some open questions since the first research in this field.

IMMEDIATELY SEQUENTIAL BILATERAL CATARACT SURGERY - «FOR» AND «CONS»

This review presents the main pros and cons of Immediately Sequential Bilateral Cataract Surgery (ISBCS) versus Delayed Sequential Bilateral Cataract Surgery (DSBCS). The main arguments against ISBCS versus DSBCS are the likelihood of postoperative bilateral endophthalmitis and refractive errors. At the same time, careful selection of patients, the implementation of safety recommendations and the use of intracameral antibiotics, combined with the improvement of formulas for calculating intraocular lenses, provide the advantages of ISBCS associated with the rapid rehabilitation of patients after surgery and economic reasons.

Evaluation of Plasma Assisted Noninvasive Surgery (PANIS) As a New Approach for the Treatment of Conjunctival Concretions: A Clinical Case Series

Background and Objective: Plasma is one of the newest therapies recently used. This study aimed to evaluate a quick treatment modality of conjunctival concretions using plasma as a noninvasive procedure. Methods: Six eyes of six patients with conjunctival concretions were evaluated. The procedure was performed using plasma spots generated by the white handpiece of the Plexr device. The eyelid was everted and concretions sublimated by plasma spots from the upper and lower eyelids. Refractive Errors, visual acuity (BCVA and UCVA), Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), and Intraocular pressure (IOP) were measured before and after six months of the procedure. Results: The results of 6 months follow-up show that this effective method had no recurrence or side effects. Treatment was effective in all of the patients. No complication and recurrence was observed. The OSDI score was improved to the normal range. This method had no effects on Refractive Errors, Visual Acuity, and IOP. Conclusion: Based on the results, it seems that the PANIS method can be used as a practical, quick, and straightforward approach for the treatment of conjunctival concretions.