BJO at a glance
GIANT CELL ARTERITIS-UNCOMMON IN AN ARAB POPULATION
Giant cell arteritis is a systemic vasculitis affecting large to medium sized arteries. Ocular symptoms in patients with giant cell arteritis are often related to acute blindness, which may occur in significant numbers of patients. The disorder is reasonably common in North America and Europe. A study from Saudi Arabia by Chaudhry and coworkers suggests that the disorder is uncommon in an Arab population. Only 6.8% of a 102 patients who underwent temporal artery biopsy had biopsy proven giant cell arteritis. None of the untreated patients with a negative biopsy developed other symptoms typical of giant cell arteritis. See page 715
PREVENTING ENDOPHTHALMITIS IN CATARACT PATIENTS
Considerable controversy still surrounds the question of the ideal surgical approach and post-operative management to prevent endopthalmitis in the cataract patient. Recent reports have suggested that clear-cornea, unsutured wounds increase the risk for endopthalmitis. Whether pre-operative or post-operative antibiotics are effective in preventing endopthalmitis remains …
