Adipokines and coronary artery calcification in incident dialysis participants.

Purpose: Adipokines have been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Our aim was to determine if adipokine levels are associated with coronary artery calcification (CAC) as well as all-cause mortality in incident dialysis patients.

Methods: In patients new to dialysis, we prospectively investigated the association of adiponectin, leptin and resistin with coronary artery calcification measured by ECG-gated computer tomography.

Coronavirus Disease-19 and Re-infection: Unknown of the Unknown.

Coronavirus disease has caused seven million infections worldwide, of which, 3.1 million individuals have recovered. Though, most individuals develop antibodies, whether these antibodies result in clinical improvement/immunity from future infection is not known.

The impact of distance cataract surgical wet laboratory training on cataract surgical competency of ophthalmology residents.

Background: This study assessed the impact of distance cataract surgical wet laboratory training on surgical competency of ophthalmology residents at a tertiary-level ophthalmic training center in Trujillo, Peru.

Methods: Three five-week distance wet lab courses were administered through Cybersight, Orbis International's telemedicine platform. Weekly lectures and demonstrations addressed specific steps in phacoemulsification surgery.

COVID-19 and the Kidneys, Implications and Outcomes.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), declared as a pandemic has affected millions of people and caused unprecedented number of death. The disease is caused by a severe acute respiratory syndrome related coronaviruses-2 virus which enters cells by binding with the host angiotensin converting enzyme-2 and CD147 protein. Among COVID-19 patients admitted to a hospital, hypertension, diabetes and obesity are the most common co-morbidities.

Hemoperitoneum After Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients: A Tale of Two Cases.

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients are at much higher risk of cardiac arrest as compared to the general population. In the event of a cardiac arrest, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a lifesaving procedure. In fact, the need for CPR among hospitalized ESRD patients is almost 20 times higher than the general population.

Rapid assessment of avoidable blindness and cataract surgery coverage among forcibly displaced Myanmar Nationals (Rohingya refugees) in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.

Aim: To determine the prevalence and causes of blindness, vision impairment and cataract surgery coverage among Rohingya refugees aged ≥ 50 years residing in camps in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.

Methods: We used the Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) methodology to select 76 clusters of 50 participants aged ≥ 50 years with probability proportionate to size. Demographic and cataract surgery data were collected using questionnaires, visual acuity was assessed per World Health Organization criteria and examinations were conducted by torch, and with direct ophthalmoscopy in eyes with pinhole-corrected vision <6/12.

Anticoagulation in Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease and Atrial Fibrillation: Confusion, Concerns and Consequences.

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients have a higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, congestive heart failure and advanced age, along with an increased incidence of non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF), thereby increasing the risk for cerebrovascular accidents. Systemic anticoagulation is therefore recommended in patients with ESRD with AF to reduce the risk and complications from thromboembolism. Paradoxically, these patients are at an increased risk of bleeding due to great degree of platelet dysfunction and impaired interaction between platelet and endothelium.

Ending Neglected Surgical Diseases (NSDs): Definitions, Strategies, and Goals for the Next Decade.

While there has been overall progress in addressing the lack of access to surgical care worldwide, untreated surgical conditions in developing countries remain an underprioritized issue. Significant backlogs of advanced surgical disease called neglected surgical diseases (NSDs) result from massive disparities in access to quality surgical care. We aim to discuss a framework for a public health rights-based initiative designed to prevent and eliminate the backlog of NSDs in developing countries.

Burden of eye disease and demand for care in the Bangladesh Rohingya displaced population and host community: A cohort study.

Background: There is a growing awareness that addressing chronic as well as acute health conditions may contribute importantly to the well-being of displaced populations, but eye care service has generally not been prioritized in crisis situations. We describe a replicable model of eye care provision as delivered by Orbis International and local partners to the Rohingya and host population in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, and characterize the burden of vision impairment and demand for sight-restoring services in this setting.

Methods And Findings: Orbis International and local secondary facility Cox's Bazar Baitush Sharaf Hospital (CBBSH) provide eye care support to the Rohingya population and the host community of all ages in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, with fixed vision screening locations established in Camps 4 and 11 of the Kutupalong refugee settlement.

Effects of an Aging Population and Racial Demographics on Eye Disease Prevalence: Projections for Georgia Through 2050.

Purpose: To provide a state-level prediction of the future burden of visual impairment and its causes in adults in the state of Georgia through 2050, accounting for age and race demographics.

Design: A population prevalence projection study.

Methods: Population data were obtained from the Georgia Governor's Office of Planning and Budget, stratified by age and race and applied to the Prevent Blindness America eye disease prevalence values.

Choice of dialysis modality prior to kidney transplantation: Does it matter?

The population of patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) is increasing, lengthening waiting lists for kidney transplantation. Majority of the patients are not able to receive a kidney transplant in timely manner even though it is well established that patient survival and quality of life after kidney transplantation is far better when compared to being on dialysis. A large number of patients who desire a kidney transplant ultimately end up needing some form of dialysis therapy.

Visual Impairment and Eye Disease Among Children of Migrant Farmworkers.

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of reduced visual acuity and ocular disease in the children of migrant farmworkers in Georgia.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of data acquired by a vision screening was performed on 156 Haitian and Hispanic children of migrant farmworkers attending a summer school in Georgia. Reduced visual acuity at presentation was analyzed and stratified by ethnicity, type of ocular disease, and immediate resolution with refractive correction.

Elimination through collaboration: success factors in a global consortium.

The Global Trachoma Mapping Project (GTMP) is the largest infectious disease survey ever undertaken. With 60 partners, 2.6 million people were examined across 29 countries for the blinding neglected tropical disease (NTD) trachoma, establishing the prevalence of the disease globally.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control in the Global Trachoma Mapping Project.

In collaboration with the health ministries that we serve and other partners, we set out to complete the multiple-country Global Trachoma Mapping Project. To maximize the accuracy and reliability of its outputs, we needed in-built, practical mechanisms for quality assurance and quality control. This article describes how those mechanisms were created and deployed.

Strengthening the links between mapping, planning and global engagement for disease elimination: lessons learnt from trachoma.

Background: Trachoma is the leading infectious cause of blindness. Until recently, reliable data on the global extent of the disease, detailed plans for elimination, and government, donor and partner engagement were all inadequate.

Methods: The trachoma community undertook a systematic, three-pronged strategy to map trachoma district by district, develop national-level trachoma elimination plans, and create a framework for governments, donors and partners to convene and coordinate in support of trachoma elimination.

New-onset hepatitis C virus-associated glomerulonephritis following sustained virologic response with direct-acting antiviral therapy .

Glomerulonephritis (GN) is an important extra-hepatic manifestation of infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV). HCV-associated GN occurs due to HCV-induced lymphoproliferation, leading to the generation of pathogenic immune complexes, including complexes containing cryoglobulins. The management of HCV-associated extra-hepatic disease is focused on viral eradication, with direct-acting antiviral agents leading to high rates of sustained virologic remission.

The Global Trachoma Mapping Project: Methodology of a 34-Country Population-Based Study.

Purpose: To complete the baseline trachoma map worldwide by conducting population-based surveys in an estimated 1238 suspected endemic districts of 34 countries.

Methods: A series of national and sub-national projects owned, managed and staffed by ministries of health, conduct house-to-house cluster random sample surveys in evaluation units, which generally correspond to "health district" size: populations of 100,000-250,000 people. In each evaluation unit, we invite all residents aged 1 year and older from h households in each of c clusters to be examined for clinical signs of trachoma, where h is the number of households that can be seen by 1 team in 1 day, and the product h × c is calculated to facilitate recruitment of 1019 children aged 1-9 years.

Global challenges in the management of congenital cataract: proceedings of the 4th International Congenital Cataract Symposium held on March 7, 2014, New York, New York.

Childhood cataracts have become a leading cause of preventable childhood blindness in many areas of the world. Here we summarize regional focus group discussions from the 4th Annual International Congenital Cataract Symposium on the current situation, challenges, and recommendations for the management of congenital cataracts in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, Central America, South America, and developed nations. Strategies for managing congenital cataracts must be adapted and developed according to regional conditions.

Mass drug administration for trachoma: how long is not long enough?

Background: Blinding trachoma is targeted for elimination by 2020 using the SAFE strategy (Surgery, Antibiotics, Facial cleanliness, and Environmental improvements). Annual mass drug administration (MDA) with azithromycin is a cornerstone of this strategy. If baseline prevalence of clinical signs of trachomatous inflammation - follicular among 1-9 year-olds (TF1-9) is ≥ 10% but <30%, the World Health Organization guidelines are for at least 3 annual MDAs; if ≥ 30%, 5.

Elimination of blinding trachoma by 2020: a call for rapid scale-up and strengthening programmes.

Elimination of blinding trachoma is targeted for the year 2020, making scale-up extremely urgent. Preferred practices have been developed for mass drug administration and trichiasis surgery to assist new countries and districts. However, these need to be utilised on a broader scale to ensure quality output of programmes and the highest coverage possible of their implementation.

Trachoma.

Trachoma is the most common infectious cause of blindness. Repeated episodes of infection with Chlamydia trachomatis in childhood lead to severe conjunctival inflammation, scarring, and potentially blinding inturned eyelashes (trichiasis or entropion) in later life. Trachoma occurs in resource-poor areas with inadequate hygiene, where children with unclean faces share infected ocular secretions.

Effect of water, sanitation, and hygiene on the prevention of trachoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Trachoma is the world's leading cause of infectious blindness. The World Health Organization (WHO) has endorsed the SAFE strategy in order to eliminate blindness due to trachoma by 2020 through "surgery," "antibiotics," "facial cleanliness," and "environmental improvement." While the S and A components have been widely implemented, evidence and specific targets are lacking for the F and E components, of which water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) are critical elements.