1: Ophthalmic Epidemiol. 2012 Feb;19(1):38-42. 

Two-Day Dosing versus One-Day Dosing of Azithromycin in Children with Severe
Trachoma in Tanzania.

Campbell JP, Mkocha H, Munoz B, West SK.

Dana Center for Preventive Ophthalmology, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins
University ,  Baltimore, Maryland ,  USA.

Purpose: To determine whether 2-day dosing of azithromycin may improve the
efficacy of azithromycin dosing in children with severe trachoma.   Methods:
Fifty children with severe trachoma (defined as either trachoma intense or
follicular trachoma with ten or more follicles) were enrolled from five villages
in Kongwa, Tanzania. Enrollment occurred within 1 month and within the same
district as the historical control population of 99 children with severe
trachoma, all of whom received 1-day dosing. Baseline data on age, sex, and
trachoma status were obtained, and swabs for determination of Chlamydia
trachomatis were taken. All 50 children received 20 mg/kg azithromycin daily for
2 days, which was directly observed. Children were followed up at 6 weeks for
trachoma and infection. The laboratory was masked to treatment assignment.  
Results: Baseline characteristics were similar between the treatment group and
the control group. A total of 1/46 (2.2%) of children in the treatment group
were polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-positive at 6 weeks, a 96.3% reduction from
baseline, compared to 13/96 (13.5%) in the historical control group, an 89.4%
reduction. This difference was statistically significant. However when modeled
using logistic regression and accounting for age, gender, weight, and baseline
percent PCR positivity, the difference was not significant. Prevalence of
clinical trachoma did not differ between the groups at 6 weeks.   Conclusion:
For children with severe trachoma, a randomized controlled trial of 2-day versus
1-day treatment may be warranted.

PMID: 22273357  [PubMed - in process]

2: Ophthalmic Epidemiol. 2012 Feb;19(1):23-8. 

The effectiveness of cataract surgery in reducing motor vehicle crashes: a whole
population study using linked data.

Meuleners LB, Hendrie D, Lee AH, Ng JQ, Morlet N.

Curtin-Monash Accident Research Centre (C-MARC), Curtin University ,  Perth , 
Western Australia.

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of first eye cataract surgery on drivers
aged 60 years and over at a population level.   Methods: A retrospective before
and after comparison of all police reported crashes for patients who had
undergone first eye cataract surgery using linked Western Australia data for the
period 1997-2006. An economic analysis by the type of crash was performed on the
cost savings from cataract surgery for this cohort.   Results: Of the 27,827
patients who underwent cataract surgery in one eye only, 1715 patients were
involved in 1762 police reported crash events, either 1 year before (n = 941
crashes) or 1 year after (n = 821 crashes) cataract surgery. Results from
Poisson generalized estimating equations showed a significant reduction of 12.7%
(P = 0.034) in all police reported crashes 1 year after cataract surgery. The
corresponding cost savings amounted to $4.3 million.   Conclusion: The findings
are important for policy development to further improve driving outcomes among
older drivers.

PMID: 22273356  [PubMed - in process]

3: Ophthalmic Epidemiol. 2012 Feb;19(1):16-22. 

Refractive error in school children in an urban and rural setting in cambodia.

Gao Z, Meng N, Muecke J, Chan WO, Piseth H, Kong A, Jnguyenphamhh T, Dehghan Y,
Selva D, Casson R, Ang K.

Sight For All Foundation, South Australian Institute of Ophthalmology , 
Adelaide ,  Australia.

Purpose: To assess the prevalence of refractive error in schoolchildren aged
12-14 years in urban and rural settings in Cambodia's Phnom Penh and Kandal
provinces.   Methods: Ten schools from Phnom Penh Province and 26 schools from
Kandal Province were randomly selected and surveyed in October 2010. Children
were examined by teams of Australian and Cambodian optometrists, ophthalmic
nurses and ophthalmologists who performed visual acuity (VA) testing and
cycloplegic refraction.   Results: A total of 5527 children were included in the
study. The prevalence of uncorrected, presenting and best-corrected VA PMID: 22273355  [PubMed - in process]

4: Ophthalmic Epidemiol. 2012 Feb;19(1):8-15. 

Alcohol consumption, drinking pattern, and self-reported visual impairment.

Fan AZ, Li Y, Zhang X, Klein R, Mokdad AH, Saaddine JB, Balluz L.

Office of Surveillance, Epidemiology and Laboratory Services (OSELS), Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention ,  Atlanta, Georgia ,  USA.

Purpose: To examine whether alcohol drinking status and drinking pattern are
associated with self-reported visual impairment.   Methods: We used data from
the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a state-based telephone health
survey conducted by random-digit dialing among non-institutionalized US adults.
The Visual Impairment and Access to Eye Care module was implemented among 42,
713 adults aged 50 years and older in 2005 and 2006. Visual impairment was
defined as any degree of difficulty experienced in recognizing a friend across
the street or reading print in newspaper, magazine, recipe, menu, or numbers on
the telephone with usual correction. Drinking patterns included drinking
quantity (drinks per drinking day), frequency (drinking days in the past month),
and binge drinking.   Results: After adjustment for age, sex, race/ethnicity,
educational attainment, smoking status, Body Mass Index, history of
cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and eye diseases, current drinking status was
not associated with distance and/or near vision impairment. However, drinking
more than 1 drink per drinking day (odds ratio [OR], 1.21; 95% confidence
intervals [CI], 1.09-1.35) and binge drinking (OR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.14-1.53) were
associated with visual impairment among current drinkers.   Conclusion: Among
current drinkers, drinking patterns were significantly associated with near and
distance vision impairment. Longitudinal studies are needed to confirm whether
drinkers who drink beyond drinking guidelines, especially binge drinkers, are at
higher risk of visual impairment than those who drink at lower levels.

PMID: 22273354  [PubMed - in process]

5: Ophthalmic Epidemiol. 2012 Feb;19(1):3-7. 

Blindness and low vision in Germany 1993-2009.

Wolfram C, Pfeiffer N.

University Medical Center, Department of Ophthalmology ,  Mainz ,  Germany.

Purpose: To describe the development of the prevalence of blindness and low
vision in the German population between 1993 and 2009 with respect to major
demographic changes and to investigate how the prevalence of blindness would
have developed without demographic aging.   Methods: Investigation of the
prevalence for blindness and low vision in the German population on the basis of
the official German statistics for severely handicapped people and population
statistics between 1993 and 2009. Age-specific prevalence rates and the
prevalence based on a standardized population were calculated and the
progression is demonstrated.   Results: The overall prevalence of blindness and
low vision in Germany increased between 1993 and 2009 by 12.3% from 314,404 to
352,943 subjects. The absolute number of blind or visually impaired persons in
the eldest group (75 years and above) has grown by 38.2% from 126,023 to 174,127
subjects. At the same time, both age-specific prevalence rates as well as the
prevalence that was based on a standardized population decreased, matching more
than 30,000 fewer cases of blindness in 2009 as compared to 1993.   Conclusions:
The increase in absolute prevalence numbers for blindness and low vision implies
an increase in the ophthalmic workload. At the same time, the decrease in the
age-specific and standardized prevalence indicates possible improvements in the
overall eye health status of the population since 1993.

PMID: 22273353  [PubMed - in process]

6: Ophthalmic Epidemiol. 2012 Feb;19(1):1-2. 

New insights into crash risk for older drivers with cataract.

Keay L.

Injury Division, George Institute for Global Health ,  New South Wales , 
Australia.

PMID: 22273352  [PubMed - in process]