Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a multifactorial disorder, and there is growing evidence of immunological involvement in its pathogenesis. To address this, we aimed to identify biomarker candidates related to retinal antigens in patients with neovascular AMD treated with ranibizumab and healthy subjects. This study was designed as a prospective, open, parallel-group, interventional, single-center phase IV trial.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To investigate the incidence of retinal detachment in the German population and to assess potential risk factors.
Methods: The Gutenberg Health Study is a population-based cohort study in Mainz, Germany, including subjects (n = 15,010) with an age range from 35 to 74 years at baseline examination. Study participants underwent a comprehensive ophthalmological examination including distant-corrected visual acuity, refraction and slit-lamp examination at baseline examination.
The treatment of congenital glaucoma requires special expertise and often novel surgical approaches. The combined use of a XEN and a Baerveldt implant is an alternative to conventional tube implants and may be less harmful for long-term corneal endothelial damage. If this technique does not provide sufficient long-term control of intraorbital pressure (IOP), a direct implantation of the Baerveldt tube can be easily performed in a second intervention.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Pain complaints are common, but clinicians are increasingly concerned about overuse of opioid pain medications. This may lead patients with actual pain to be stigmatized as "drug-seeking," or attempting to obtain medications they do not require medically. We assessed whether patient requests for specific opioid pain medication would lead physicians to classify them as drug-seeking and change management decisions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In the Single Ventricle Reconstruction trial, infants with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) who received a right-ventricle-to-pulmonary-artery shunt (RVPAS) versus a modified Blalock-Taussig shunt (MBTS) had lower early postoperative mortality, but more complications at 14 months. We explored the effect of shunt type and other patient, medical, and surgical factors on postoperative length of stay (LOS) after the Fontan operation.
Methods: Fontan postoperative course was ascertained from medical record review.