AIM To investigate whether presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome in the Netherlands is caused by Histoplasma capsulatum and whether other risk factors might play a role in the pathogenesis of this syndrome. METHODS 23 patients were clinically diagnosed as having presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome based on the following criteria: peripapillary atrophy, punched out lesions, a macular dis...

BACKGROUND The global need for disease detection and control has increased effort to engineer point-of-care (POC) tests that are simple, robust, affordable, and non-instrumented. In many POC tests, sample collection involves swabbing the site (e.g., nose, skin), agitating the swab in a fluid to release the sample, and transferring the fluid to a device for analysis. Poor performance in sample t...

Ocular involvement in lymphoma is a relatively rare condition that can result from a primary intraocular lymphoma or an intraocular manifestation of systemic lymphoma. Lymphoma manifestations frequently masquerade as other more benign intraocular conditions including allergic or infectious conjunctivitis, uveitis, multiple evanescent white dot syndrome, acute retinal necrosis, or herpetic retin...

The increasing understanding of immune mechanisms changed our perception of the ocular surface, which is now considered a compartment of the common mucosal immune system. It offered the possibility to alter the physiological immune response on the ocular surface and effectively combat inflammation, which impairs stability of the tear film and causes tear hyperosmolarity, causing symptoms of dry...

Following revised information pertaining to newer swab types and testing protocols in the new CLSI M40-A2 standard, we evaluated three liquid swab transport systems for the recovery of aerobic, anaerobic, and fastidious organisms at room temperature and at 4°C. All tested liquid swab transport systems were fully compliant with the M40-A2 standard, with acceptable performance at both temperature...

Clinical swab heads are often coated with biopolymers to improve the recovery and survival of organisms. To assess the effect of swab head material coating, water absorption capacity and capture and release characteristics of four pathogenic bacteria from protein coated and uncoated flocked swabs were determined. Demonstration of no uniformly higher recovery of all test bacteria from coated swa...

Weill-Marchesani syndrome (WMS) is a rare connective tissue disorder with characteristic phenotypic skeletal and ocular manifestations. A 28-year-old myopic female presented with an 8-month history of bilateral blurred vision. On examination, she was noted to be of short stature with brachydactyly. On ocular examination, she was found to be spherophakic with bilateral inferiorly subluxated lens...

PURPOSE To discuss the importance of ocular surface management in corneal transplantation, especially in limbal transplantation. METHODS Since the corneal epithelium is not completely recovered after corneal transplantation, meticulous attention should be paid to the ocular surface to prevent infection and rejection, which are the major causes of corneal transplantation failure. Preoperative ...

Forty patients with cataracts, as well as 40 patients with proven ocular toxo­ plasmosis were enrolled in this prospective clinical study. Serum IgG and aque­ ous IgG in both groups were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the corresponding ratios were calculated. Serum IgG/aqueous hu­ mor IgG ratio was less than 100 in the patient group and more than 100 in the control gr...