Accuracy of fine needle aspiration cytology in diagnosis of thyroid swelling

Background: Fine needle aspiration cytology has been shown to be simple, safe, cost effective and quick to perform procedure with excellent patient compliance. It is a well established technique for preoperative investigation of thyroid gland swellings with high sensitivity, specificity and accuracy. The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy of fine needle aspiration cytology of thyroid swellings performed at our institution. Materials and Methods: This study was carried out at Kathmandu Medical College and Teaching hospital, department of Pathology over a period of 3 years (January 2010 to December 2012). Two hundred and seventy three patients of all age groups and both sexes who underwent fine needle aspiration cytology for thyroid swelling were evaluated. Out of 273 patients, histopathological diagnosis was available in 45 patients. Results: Fine needle aspiration cytology result revealed 245 cases (89.7%) as non-neoplastic, 21 cases (7.7%) as neoplastic and 7 cases (2.6%) inadequate due to lack of cellularity. The commonest lesion in the thyroid gland was colloid goiter. Among the malignant neoplasms the commonest was papillary carcinoma. Out of 273 patients, histopathological diagnosis was available in 45 patients. Statistical analysis of our data shows the diagnostic accuracy of fine needle aspiration cytology to be 95.7%. Fine needle aspiration cytology showed a sensitivity of 96.4% and a specificity of 94.4%. Conclusion: Fine needle aspiration cytology is a well established technique for pre operative investigation of thyroid gland swellings with high sensitivity, specificity and accuracy. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jpn.v3i6.8988Journal of Pathology of Nepal (2013) Vol. 3, 433-436  

Vitreo-retinal disorders at high altitude in Nepal

INTRODUCTION

Nepal has many mountains including the highest one in the world. People living in high altitude are often involved in climbing mountains.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the pattern of vitreo-retinal disorders at high altitude in Nepal.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Consecutive patients aged 40 years and older who presented at the micro-surgical eye camp at Lukla of Solukhumbu district (2,860 metres) were included. Detailed ocular and systemic histories and ocular examination including dilated fundus evaluation were done.

RESULTS

There were a total 81 patients with the mean age of 56.7 years (S.D 11.15). Females (51.9 %) outnumbered males. Sherpa comprised of 76.5 % followed by Rai (9.8 %). The main occupation was agriculture (51.9 %) followed by mountain trekking (28.4 %). Smokers comprised of 13.5 %. Hypertension was the predominant systemic problem (28 %). The best corrected visual acuity of 6/18 and better was found in 86.4 % of cases and less than 3/ 60 in 3.6 % of cases. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) was found in 19.6 % of cases with a predominant mild AMD (16 %), hypertensive retinopathy in 12.2 %, with grade I hypertensive change in 8.6 %, retinal vein occlusion (RVO) in 7.1 % of cases and with a branch RVO in 4.9 %. Dilated and tortuous retinal vessels were present in 25.9 % of cases; out of this, 9.8 % of the cases had concurrent AMD and/or hypertensive retinopathy. Other retinal problems were macular hole (2.46 %), solar retinopathy (2.46 %) and choroidal tear (1.2 %).

CONCLUSION

AMD, hypertensive retinopathy, and RVO are the main vitreo-retinal disorders besides the dilated and tortuous retinal vessels in people living at high altitude in Nepal.

Demographics and awareness of diabetic retinopathy among diabetic patients attending the vitreo-retinal service at a tertiary eye care center in Nepal

INTRODUCTION

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the leading causes of blindness in Nepal.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the demographic characteristics and awareness of diabetic retinopathy among new cases of diabetes mellitus (DM) attending the vitreo-retinal service of a tertiary eye care centre in Nepal.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A hospital-based, cross-sectional study including all consecutive new cases of DM was carried out. Detailed demographics of the subjects and their awareness of potential ocular problems from diabetes mellitus were noted.

RESULTS

A total of 210 patients with a mean age of 57 +/- 10.4 years were included. Brahmins (34.8 %) and Newars (34.3 %) were the predominant ethnic groups. Housewives (38.6 %) and office workers (18.6 %) were the major groups affected. Two-fifths (37 %) of the cases were unaware of DR and its potential for blindness. Awareness was significantly higher among literate patients (P = 0.006). Fundus evaluation was done for the first time in 48.6 %, although almost four-fifths had a duration of diabetes of five years or more. DR was found in 78 % of the cases, with 16.7 % already at the proliferative stage and about 40 % exhibiting clinically significant diabetic macular edema.

CONCLUSION

A lack of awareness of DR coupled with a high proportion of cases already at a sight-threatening stage of retinopathy at their first presentation reflects the need for improved awareness programs to reduce the burden of blindness from DR in Nepal.

Age-related macular degeneration in Nepal

BACKGROUND

The Age related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is a common cause of visual impairment and blindness worldwide in elderly.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to explore the demographic characteristics, pattern and risk factors for AMD at a tertiary referral eye centre in Nepal.

METHODS

This is a hospital-based prospective study, conducted at Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology, Nepal from September 2008 to May 2009. All the consecutive cases of AMD diagnosed at the institute were included.

RESULTS

A total of 141 patients (266 eyes) with AMD recruited for the study. The mean age was 69.5 years (9.1SD) with three fifth males (58.9%). Housewives and occupations like agriculture comprised of 38.3% and 42.5% respectively. Three fourth (75.6%) of the patients were illiterate. The proportion of dry and wet AMD were found in 62.4% and 37.6% respectively. Bilateral involvement was seen in 88.7% of the subjects. Three fourth (71.4%) of the AMD eyes had presenting visual acuity less than 6/18. History of smoking was found in 69.9% of patients. Hypertension was the predominant systemic problem (45.4%) followed by diabetes mellitus (12.8%).

CONCLUSION

AMD is correlated with ageing in our study as well. Dry AMD is more in age groups 45-64 years and wet AMD at 65 years and older. Bilateral involvement with one eye dry and fellow eye wet AMD is more predominant (44%). Smoking and occupations like agriculture and housewife are significant risk factors for AMD. Likewise male sex, illiteracy and hypertension are other risk factors for AMD in hospital settings.

Clinical profile and visual outcome following pars plana vitrectomy in acute post-operative endophthalmitis

INTRODUCTION

Endophthalmitis following cataract surgery is a rare but devastating ocular complication where delay in treatment not only results in vision loss but also in difficulty to save the eye ball.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the clinical profile and visual outcome following pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) in acute endophthalmitis after cataract surgery.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This is a retrospective interventional case series study conducted at Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology (TIO), Nepal. All consecutive cases of acute endophthalmitis following cataract surgery treated with PPV from January 2005 to August 2010 were included in the study.

RESULTS

There were a total of 34 cases (34 eyes) treated with PPV. The age range was 8 - 93 years with mean age of 56.9 ± 19.5 years. The mean duration of presentation and duration following cataract surgery was 7.7 ± 8.1 days and 13 ± 11.6 days respectively. Small incision cataract surgery was done in 75 % of cases followed by phacoemulsification (15.6 %). The mean duration of the last follow -up was 4.3 months. Vision was improved in two-thirds of cases (67.67 %) with a good vision of 6/18 or better in 17.6 %. Among the available vitreous samples of 22 cases, 36.36 % had an abnormality in Gram and Giemsa stains and culture was positive in 13.6 % of cases.

CONCLUSION

Despite the late presentation, the majority of eyes were salvaged with improvement of vision in 67.67 %, with a good vision of 6/18 or better in 17.6 4 % of cases following PPV in acute post operative endophthalmitis.

Anatomical and visual outcome following macular hole surgery at a tertiary eye care centre in Nepal

INTRODUCTION

Macular hole (MH) leading to central vision loss is common in the elderly. This study aimed to explore the anatomical and functional outcome of MH surgery at a tertiary eye care setting in Nepal.

METHODS

This retrospective, interventional case series study included patients who had undergone MH treatment with pars plana vitrectomy, membrane peeling and perfluoropropane gas (C3F8) from 2007 January to 2010 August and had completed three months of follow up. The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and anatomical status of MH assessed with bio-microscopy and optical coherence tomography (OCT) at six weeks, three months and at the last follow-up following surgery were recorded.

RESULTS

A total of 36 cases with the age range of 11 - 73 years and the mean age of 53.2 years (19.3 S.D) were included in the study. The mean duration of decreased vision was 11.1 months (12.1 S.D). Idiopathic macular hole comprised of 31 cases (86.1 %) and traumatic of five cases (13.9 %). The mean follow-up period was 9.4 months. The MH closed in 27 cases (75 %) at six weeks and in 28 cases (77.8%) at three months and at the last follow-up. The vision had improved in 36 % of cases, with more than 2 lines in 27.8 %, and was stable in 27.7 % of cases during the the last follow-up. The anatomical success rate was higher in the idiopathic MH (80.65 %) than in the traumatic (60 %) and visual acuity improved in 45 % of cases in the idiopathic and 20 % in the traumatic cases.

CONCLUSIONS

The overall anatomic success rate was 78 % and improvement in visual acuity was seen in one -third of cases. The success rate was higher among idiopathic MH than in traumatic.

Anatomical and Visual Outcome following Macular Hole Surgery at a Tertiary Eye Care Centre in Nepal

Introduction: Macular hole (MH) leading to central vision loss is common in the elderly. This study aimed to explore the anatomical and functional outcome of MH surgery at a tertiary eye care setting in Nepal. Methods: This retrospective, interventional case series study included patients who had undergone MH treatment with pars plana vitrectomy, membrane peeling and perfluoropropane gas (C3F8) from 2007 January to 2010 August and had completed three months of follow up. The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and anatomical status of MH assessed with bio-microscopy and optical coherence tomography (OCT) at six weeks, three months and at the last follow-up following surgery were recorded. Results: A total of 36 cases with the age range of 11 - 73 years and the mean age of 53.2 years (19.3 S.D) were included in the study. The mean duration of decreased vision was 11.1 months (12.1 S.D). Idiopathic macular hole comprised of 31 cases (86.1 %) and traumatic of five cases (13.9 %). The mean follow-up period was 9.4 months. The MH closed in 27 cases (75 %) at six weeks and in 28 cases (77.8%) at three months and at the last follow-up. The vision had improved in 36 % of cases, with more than 2 lines in 27.8 %, and was stable in 27.7 % of cases during the the last follow-up. The anatomical success rate was higher in the idiopathic MH (80.65 %) than in the traumatic (60 %) and visual acuity improved in 45 % of cases in the idiopathic and 20 % in the traumatic cases. Conclusions: The overall anatomic success rate was 78 % and improvement in visual acuity was seen in one -third of cases. The success rate was higher among idiopathic MH than in traumatic. Keywords: Anatomical success, macular hole, perfluoropropane gas, visual acuity, vitrectomy

Luxation of Eye Ball Following Trauma - A Rare Case Presentation

Luxation of the eye globe is a rare event but it carries a risk of threat to permanent vision loss if appropriate intervention is not initiated on time. Although a rare presentation following minor trauma, it is usually associated with other ocular conditions like shallow orbital socket, oppy eyelid syndrome, and exophthalmos. Prompt reduction results in restoration of full anatomical and visual recovery in otherwise healthy eyes. We herein report a case of luxation of the eye ball following trauma in a 15-year-old girl, who recovered completely after the surgrical correction and a review of the relevant literature. Keywords: eye ball, luxation, trauma  

Luxation of eye ball following trauma--a rare case presentation

Luxation of the eye globe is a rare event but it carries a risk of threat to permanent vision loss if appropriate intervention is not initiated on time. Although a rare presentation following minor trauma, it is usually associated with other ocular conditions like shallow orbital socket, floppy eyelid syndrome, and exophthalmos. Prompt reduction results in restoration of full anatomical and visual recovery in otherwise healthy eyes. We herein report a case of luxation of the eye ball following trauma in a 15-year-old girl, who recovered completely after the surgical correction and a review of the relevant literature.

Van Gogh syndrome

Self injury is the intentional and direct injury to self that include bite, burn, ulceration and head banging. These injuries are rarely fatal and are usually not suicidal in nature. This behavior is common among adolescents, psychiatric patients and in females. Bipolar disorder, drug abuse and metabolic syndromes like LeschNyhan and Munchausen's syndrome are often associated with this disorder. Repetitive self mutilation is termed the Van Gogh syndrome after the famous painter who cut off his ear and gave it to a prostitute. We describe two such cases of self mutilation in schizophrenic patients.

Flexible cold cathode with ultralow threshold field designed through wet chemical route

A flexible cold cathode based on a uniform array of ZnO nanowires over carbon fabrics was designed via a simple wet chemical route. The structural parameters of the nanowires (i.e. length, diameter) as well as their arrangement over the carbon fibers were tailored by adjusting nutrient solution composition and growth duration. The optimized arrays of ZnO nanowires exhibit excellent electron emission performance with ultralow turn-on as well as threshold fields of 0.27 and 0.56 V µm(-1). This threshold field value is the lowest compared to any of the previous zinc-oxide-based cold cathodes realized through either chemical or vapor phase processes. In addition, the current density can reach an exceptionally high value of ∼ 11 mA cm(-2) at an applied electric field of only 0.8 V µm(-1). Flexible electronic devices based on a field emitter cold cathode may thus be realized through chemical processing at low budget but having high efficiency.

Refractive Error, Srabismus and Amblyopia in Congenital Ptosis

INTRODUCTION: Congenital ptosis is often associated with visual impairment. The aim of the study is to find out the pattern of refractive error,strabismus and amblyopia in patients with congenital ptosis in a hospital setting. METHODS: This is a hospital based prospective and descriptive study conducted at Tribhuvan University, B P Koirala Lion's Centre for Ophthalmic studies in Nepal from February 2003 to July 2004. All the consecutive cases with congenital ptosis were included and cases with pseudoptosis were excluded from the study. RESULTS: Among the 78 cases (95 eyes) of congenital ptosis, refractive error was present in 13 cases (16.7%) with astigmatism as the commonestrefractive error (8.9%). Strabismus was found in 23 cases (26.9%) of congenital ptosis. Among the strabismus, combined exotropia with hypotropia was found in the majority of cases (16.7%). Visual impairment due to amblyopia was found in 15 cases (19.2%) of congenital ptosis with mixed strabismic and refractive etiology as the commonest one (46.7%) followed by pure strabismic (26.7%), pure refractive (20%) and stimulus deprivationamblyopia (6.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with congenital ptosis have higher rate of amblyopia due to greater prevalence of strabismus and refractive errors although stimulus deprivation amblyopia is less common. Early ophthalmic evaluation and timely treatment of these conditions may help prevent the irreversible visual impairment in case of congenital ptosis. Keywords: amblyopia, congenital ptosis, refractive error, strabismus.

Understanding how women's groups improve maternal and newborn health in Makwanpur, Nepal: a qualitative study

Women's groups, working through participatory learning and action, can improve maternal and newborn survival. We describe how they stimulated change in rural Nepal and the factors influencing their effectiveness. We collected data from 19 women's group members, 2 group facilitators, 16 health volunteers, 2 community leaders, 21 local men, and 23 women not attending the women's groups, through semi-structured interviews, group interviews, focus group discussions and unstructured observation of groups. Participants took photographs of their locality for discussion in focus groups using photoelicitation methods. Framework analysis procedures were used, and data fed back to respondents. When group members were compared with 11 184 women who had recently delivered, we found that they were of similar socioeconomic status, despite the context of poverty, and caste inequalities. Four mechanisms explain the women's group impact on health outcomes: the groups learned about health, developed confidence, disseminated information in their communities, and built community capacity to take action. Women's groups enable the development of a broader understanding of health problems, and build community capacity to bring health and development benefit.

Refractive error, strabismus and amblyopia in congenital ptosis

INTRODUCTION

Congenital ptosis is often associated with visual impairment. The aim of the study is to find out the pattern of refractive error, strabismus and amblyopia in patients with congenital ptosis in a hospital setting.

METHODS

This is a hospital based prospective and descriptive study conducted at Tribhuvan University, B P Koirala Lion's Centre for Ophthalmic studies in Nepal from February 2003 to July 2004. All the consecutive cases with congenital ptosis were included and cases with pseudoptosis were excluded from the study.

RESULTS

Among the 78 cases (95 eyes) of congenital ptosis, refractive error was present in 13 cases (16.7%) with astigmatism as the commonest refractive error (8.9%). Strabismus was found in 23 cases (26.9%) of congenital ptosis. Among the strabismus, combined exotropia with hypotropia was found in the majority of cases (16.7%). Visual impairment due to amblyopia was found in 15 cases (19.2%) of congenital ptosis with mixed strabismic and refractive etiology as the commonest one (46.7%) followed by pure strabismic (26.7%), pure refractive (20%) and stimulus deprivation amblyopia (6.7%).

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with congenital ptosis have higher rate of amblyopia due to greater prevalence of strabismus and refractive errors although stimulus deprivation amblyopia is less common. Early ophthalmic evaluation and timely treatment of these conditions may help prevent the irreversible visual impairment in case of congenital ptosis.

Waardenburg syndrome associated with laryngomalacia

Waardenburg syndrome (WS) is a rare autosomal dominant condition characterised by sensorineural hearing loss, in conjunction with pigmentary abnormalities and defects of the neural crest-derived tissues. Depending on the additional phenotypic characteristics, WS is classified into four types, viz. WS1, WS2, WS3 and WS4. We report a 45-day-old male infant with WS1, who presented with inspiratory stridor associated with difficulty in respiration. Direct flexible laryngoscopic examination during evaluation confirmed laryngomalacia as the cause of the symptoms. The baby was managed conservatively and was discharged with appropriate advice to the mother, including the need for evaluation at regular intervals. There was gradual improvement in his symptoms, and by one year of age, he was completely symptom free. To our knowledge, laryngomalacia as a part of WS has not been documented to date in the English literature. We also briefly discussed the probable embryological basis for the observed association.

Central retinal vein occlusion in young women: rare cases with oral contraceptive pills as a risk factor

Central retinal vein occlusion in young people is a rare entity. Here we present two cases of central retinal vein occlusion in young women using oral contraceptive pills. We found no other systemic problems and all routine investigations were within normal limits. The cases were managed with further avoidance of oral contraceptives and intravitreal injections of Bevacizumab (Avastin) to reduce the macular edema.

Outcome of pneumatic retinopexy at a tertiary eye care centre in Nepal

BACKGROUND

Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment is one of the commonly encountered retinal problems where timely treatment could prevent irreversible vision loss. Pneumatic retinopexy (PR) is a simple and minimally invasive procedure for retinal reattachment.

AIM

This study aimed to assess the outcome of pneumatic retinopexy in primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment at our facility.

STUDY DESIGN

This was a retrospective- prospective, interventional case series.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

All subjects with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment who underwent pneumatic retinopexy at Tilganga Eye Centre of Nepal from January 2002 to June 2007 were included in this study.

RESULTS

A total of 32 cases were included in the study. The mean age of patients was 55.2 year (SD=11.0). The majority of cases (62.5%) presented within two weeks of symptoms with blurring of vision in 90% of cases. Pre-operatively, 56.3% (18) patients had a best corrected distance visual acuity of <6/60. Retinal detachment involving less than two quadrants consisted of 37.5% (12). A single retinal break was present in 78.1% (25) of cases and 87.5% (28) of the retinal breaks were located in the superotemporal quadrant. The macula was attached in 37.5% (12) of the cases. Sulfurhexafluoride and Perfluoropropane were used in 68.8% (22) and 31.3% (10) respectively. The average follow up period was 1.02 years (range one month to four years). The retina was completely attached in 81.3% (26) of cases at the last follow up. The best corrected distance visual acuity of 6/18-6/60 was found in 40.6% (13) of subjects in the last follow up. There was a transient rise in intraocular pressure in 6.3% (2) of subjects after the procedure.

CONCLUSION

The anatomical success rate following pneumatic retinopexy is quite high (81.3%) with good visual recovery and less morbidity translating to higher productivity for the patient. This procedure, being quicker than the alternatives, will also save surgeon's time making PR a good choice for managing primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment in countries like Nepal where resources are scarce.

Discordance for Ellis-van Creveld syndrome in twins

Ellis-van Creveld (EVC) syndrome or chondroectodermal dysplasia is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterised by a variable spectrum of clinical findings. Classical EVC syndrome comprises a tetrad of clinical manifestations of chondrodystrophy, polydactyly, ectodermal dysplasia, and cardiac defects. It is extremely rare for EVC syndrome to occur in one of a pair of newborn twins. Review of the existing literature revealed that only one such case has been reported so far.

Prevalence of diabetic retinopathy following a community screening for diabetes

Diabetic retinopathy is a public health challenge in developing countries including Nepal and is not like other preventable or treatable causes of blindness. The aim of study was to estimate the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy following a community screening for diabetes. A community-based, cross sectional study was designed to screen for diabetes in people age > or =40 years in a semi-urban community of Kathmandu, Nepal. In those individuals with detected diabetes, a comprehensive eye examination was performed by an ophthalmologist and diabetic retinopathy was graded using a standard protocol. 1475 persons were screened for diabetes with a mean age of 54.7 +/- 12 years with sex ratio of 0.69 male per female. Thirty-four subjects were found to have impaired fasting glucose and sixty subjects had diabetes. The prevalence of diabetes mellitus was 4.1% (60) but 6.4% (94) had an abnormal blood sugar level. Fifty-seven diabetic patients visited at-Tilganga Eye Centre for ocular examination. Among examined patients, the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy was 19.3% (11). Only one person had clinically significant macular edema requiring laser therapy. The prevalence of hypertension and cataracts were the same among patients with and without diabetic retinopathy. The prevalence of diabetic retinopathy was low but one of sixteen newly diagnosed diabetics did have evidence of diabetic retinopathy. Eighty-four percent of known diabetics had never had their eyes examined for ocular complications. Community awareness and physician coordination should be emphasized to increase the eye examination rate.

Eliciting knee jerk--a new method of reinforcement

This study was designed to detect the sensitivity of different methods of eliciting knee jerks and to compare the conventional methods with the newly purposed maneuver. Knee jerk (a deep tendon reflex) was elicited in 123 apparently normal population (77 males and 46 females) with three different methods (1) without applying reinforcement, (2) applying Jendrassik maneuver (strong voluntary contraction of upper limbs) and (3) using the new method of reinforcement--that is by dorsiflexion of ankle joint of the same foot voluntarily as strong as possible on which the jerk would be elicitated. The sensitivity of the method without reinforcement was found to be is 87.8%; that with Jendrassik maneuver was 93.5%, whereas the sensitivity of newly proposed maneuver was 99.2%. Results of the present study have served to demonstrate that elicitation of knee jerk with newly proposed reinforcement maneuver is the best among all three methods.

Comparative study of esmolol and labetalol to attenuate haemodynamic responses after electroconvulsive therapy

OBJECTIVE

The study was designed to evaluate the hemodynamic effects of Esmolol and labetalol in patients undergoing electroconvulsive therapy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Ninety patients undergoing electroconvulsive therapy treatment were studied according to randomized, double blind placebo controlled protocol. Ninety patients were divided into three groups with thirty patients in each group. Patients received either Esmolol (1 mg/kg), Labetalol (0.25 mg/kg) or Normal Saline (placebo) intravenously just after induction with propofol. The baseline heart rate and blood pressure were recorded. Hemodynamic parameters before and after drug therapy and after the ECT current application, were recorded at different time intervals.

RESULTS

It was found that Esmolol significantly attenuated the degree of tachycardia and hypertension after ECT in comparison with placebo in the first three minutes (p<0.05), whereas the rise in HR and blood pressure was significantly blunted in the labetalol group in comparison to placebo, from three minutes onward till ten minutes. (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION

It was concluded that Esmolol is effective in blunting the hemodynamic response after ECT stimulus in the first three minutes after application of the electrical current, whereas Labetalol is effective after five minutes onwards till ten minutes.

Arc fusion splicing of hollow-core photonic bandgap fibers for gas-filled fiber cells

The difficulty of fusion splicing hollow-core photonic bandgap fiber (PBGF) to conventional step index single mode fiber (SMF) has severely limited the implementation of PBGFs. To make PBGFs more functional we have developed a method for splicing a hollow-core PBGF to a SMF using a commercial arc splicer. A repeatable, robust, low-loss splice between the PBGF and SMF is demonstrated. By filling one end of the PBGF spliced to SMF with acetylene gas and performing saturation spectroscopy, we determine that this splice is useful for a PBGF cell.

Etiological pattern of blepharoptosis among patients presenting in teaching hospital

The purpose of this study was to find out the etiological pattern of blepharoptosis among patients presenting in BPKLCOS, T.U. Teaching Hospital. This was a hospital based descriptive and cross-sectional study conducted from February 2003 to July 2004. A total of 125 patients with ptosis were evaluated. 78 cases (62.4%) were congenital and 47 cases (37.6 %) were acquired. Congenital simple ptosis and congenital complicated ptosis comprised of 58% and 42% respectively. Among the acquired cause, ptosis due to trauma was the commonest 32%, followed by third cranial nerve palsy 25.5%, myasthenia gravis 17%, aponeurotic 10.7%, chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia 8.5% etc. Aetiology-wise, myogenic ptosis was the commonest (65.6%) which was followed by neurogenic (16.8%), traumatic (12%) and aponeurotic ptosis (5.6%). Congenital ptosis is more common than acquired ptosis. Myogenic ptosis is the most predominant type of ptosis. Among the congenital ptosis, congenital simple ptosis is more common than congenital complicated ptosis. Among the acquired cases trauma, third cranial nerve palsy and myasthenia gravis are the major attendees.