Pediatrics

Orlando—Ongoing efforts to encourage the adoption of mandatory preschool vision screening in every state were the main topic of discussion during a workshop at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS).

As a young man living in China, culinary arts meant more to Kang Zhang, MD, PhD, than a hobby. For young Zhang, cooking was a possible survival skill as he embarked on a new culture and adventure in the United States.

Optic neuritis is an acute, inflammatory, sporadic optic neuropathy unrelated to trauma, toxins, or a nutritional deficiency.

Orlando—The American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus recently honored Leonard Apt, MD, professor of ophthalmology and founding director of the division of pediatric ophthalmology at the Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA, at the group's annual meeting here.

The ingenuity of pharmaceutical researchers continues to amaze in their bility to devise inventive solutions and improve upon our current arsenal of ophthalmic medications, devices,and delivery systems.

New York—Vision Connection, an online resource of Lighthouse International for those with vision impairment and rehabilitation, has added an enhanced searchable database.

Washington, DC &#8212 A good visual outcome is often achieved following primary IOL placement in pediatric eyes undergoing removal of traumatic cataract, said Richard Golub, MD.

It may be a little harsh to say that battle lines are drawn, but it is not stretching the imagination any to see that there are distinctly different opinions being debated on eye examinations for preschool children.

Baltimore—Prescribed weekend atropine sulfate 1% appears to be as effective as prescribed daily use for treating moderate amblyopia in young children, according to results from a study conducted by the Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group.

Orlando—Transitions Optical is offering new point-of-sale tools that allow eye-care professionals to add a personal touch to their discussion of healthy vision with patients. More than half of the materials now offered are customizable using the Transitions Online Marketing (TOM) tool.

Atlanta—Robertson Optical Laboratories, which operates wholesale lab branches in Georgia and South Carolina, has been selected as one of two wholesale lab companies to be authorized distributors of Definity lenses by manufacturer Johnson & Johnson.

Coronado, CA—Transpupillary thermotherapy (TTT) alone and combined with a single pretreatment intravitreal injection of triamcinolone acetonide 4 mg are similarly associated with vision stabilization over a 6-month follow-up period in eyes with large complicated choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD), reported Jans Fromow-Guerra, MD, PhD, at the annual meeting of the American Society of Retinal Specialists.

Houston—Use of intravenous corticosteroids in the acute management of pediatric orbital cellulitis with subperiosteal abscess did not have an adverse effect on clinical outcomes and may be beneficial, according to Michael T. Yen, MD.

Baltimore—Ongoing programs at the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) are having a positive influence on bringing more safe and effective drugs to market, said Wiley A. Chambers, MD.

Quality of life (QOL) has become an issue in every branch of medicine, including ophthalmology. From an economic perspective, loss of productivity contributes to the economic burden of a disease in the same manner as the shared costs of treatment.

Chicago—Ketotifen fumarate 0.025% ophthalmic solution (Zaditor, Novartis) offers rapid-onset, long-lasting relief of allergy-associated itching along with excellent local tolerability and a long-standing record of safety. Those features combined make it an outstanding therapeutic choice for all patients with allergic conjunctivitis and a particularly attractive option for the pediatric population, said Kimberlee M. Curnyn, MD.

Twenty-five percent of the population in the United States is under the age of 14. What’s more, one-quarter of these children have some type of visual need.

Coronado Island, CA-The focus of attention in caring for babies with incontinentia pigmenti (IP) should be on the potential for rapid development of irreversible blindness rather than on the clinically obvious skin manifestations, said Morton F. Goldberg, MD, in the Gertrude D. Pyron Award Lecture at the annual meeting of the American Society of Retina Specialists.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology's (AAO) Web site (www.aao.org) has a new look and feel, with a redesigned home to add artistic and visual appeal and to make navigation more intuitive.

Indianapolis-In vivo imaging studies using optical coherence tomography (OCT) are providing new insight into the pathology of X-linked juvenile retinoschisis, according to Hua Gao, MD, PhD.

New York -Five potential causes of failure of glaucoma filtration surgery include excessive subconjunctival fibrosis, tight scleral flap sutures, encapsulated bleb, occluded internal ostium, and intraocular obstruction, according to James C. Tsai, MD.

Any sport involving a racquet or stick, ball, or bodily contact presents a risk of serious eye injury.

Any sport involving a racquet or stick, ball, or bodily contact presents a risk of serious eye injury.

Lausanne, Switzerland-The presentation of temporal arteritis can vary, so ophthalmologists sometimes fail to diagnose this vision-threatening disease in a timely fashion.

Topical anti-allergic medications do not induce the ocular drying characteristic of systemic antihistamines.

Philadelphia-Cerebrovascular dissection represents a life-and-death situation for the patient. Ophthalmologists should be able to recognize this potentially catastrophic diagnosis and initiate emergent treatment, said Nicholas Volpe, MD.

It’s sometimes challenging being a child who wears glasses, so a few cool accessories can turn the experience into a more enjoyable one.

The pediatric eyewear market may be a rewarding and lucrative off-shoot for ophthalmologists who have already chosen to include a dispensary in their practices. Robert S. Gold, MD, of Eye Physicians of Central Florida, Orlando, offers this advice about including pediatric and youth eyewear in a busy ophthalmologic practice.