Retinoblastoma survival and enucleation outcomes in 41 countries from the African continent.

Background: Retinoblastoma is the most common intraocular malignancy in childhood. Despite one-third of cases occurring in Africa, little is known of the outcomes on the continent. This study aims to explore survival and globe salvage outcomes and identify their risk factors across a large cohort of patients from the African continent.

A multi-centre investigation of macrovascular and non-ocular microvascular complications in children and adolescents with diabetes mellitus in southern Ghana.

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of macrovascular and non-ocular microvascular complications and the associated factors among children and adolescents with diabetes mellitus in selected hospitals in southern Ghana.

Design: A cross-sectional study.

Setting: The out-patient clinics of the Departments of Child Health, Medicine and Therapeutics, Family Medicine, Ophthalmology, and the National Diabetes Management and Research Centre, all at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, as well as from Cape-Coast Teaching Hospital in the Central Region of Ghana.

Rubella virus IgM and IgG antibodies with avidity in pregnant women and outcomes at a tertiary facility in Ghana.

Background: Congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) is a recognised cause of childhood deafness and blindness caused by the transplacental transmission of rubella virus during pregnancy. Women in the reproductive age group, and by extension their unborn babies may therefore be at increased risk. The prevalence of Rubella virus specific IgM and IgG antibodies, including IgG avidity, was determined in pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic at a Teaching Hospital in Ghana.

Visual impairment among eye health workers in a tertiary eye centre in Ghana.

Objective: To determine causes of visual impairment (VI) among staff of the Eye Centre at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.

Design: This was a cross-sectional study.

Setting: The Eye Centre, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), from October 2016 to March 2017 on all consenting members of staff.

A Cross-Sectional Study of Ocular Changes in Children and Adolescents with Diabetes Mellitus in Selected Health Facilities in Ghana.

Background: The main objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR), other diabetes-related ocular changes (e.g., cataracts, corneal ulceration), and non-diabetic ocular disease in Ghanaian children and adolescents.

High-risk Pathologic Features Based on Presenting Findings in Advanced Intraocular Retinoblastoma: A Multicenter, International Data-Sharing American Joint Committee on Cancer Study.

Purpose: To determine the value of clinical features for advanced intraocular retinoblastoma as defined by the eighth edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) cT3 category and AJCC Ophthalmic Oncology Task Force (OOTF) Size Groups to predict the high-risk pathologic features.

Design: International, multicenter, registry-based retrospective case series.

Participants: Eighteen ophthalmic oncology centers from 13 countries over 6 continents shared evaluations of 942 eyes enucleated as primary treatment for AJCC cT3 and, for comparison, cT2 retinoblastoma.

Retinoblastoma seeds: impact on American Joint Committee on Cancer clinical staging.

Aim: To investigate whether the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) clinical category cT2b needs to be subclassified by the type and distribution of retinoblastoma (RB) seeding.

Methods: Multicentre, international registry-based data were collected from RB centres enrolled between January 2001 and December 2013. 1054 RB eyes with vitreous or subretinal seeds from 18 ophthalmic oncology centres, in 13 countries within six continents were analysed.

Morbidity and Complications of Diabetes Mellitus in Children and Adolescents in Ghana: Protocol for a Longitudinal Study.

Background: Diabetes is associated with premature morbidity and mortality from its many complications. There are limited data on the chronic complications of diabetes in children and adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa.

Objective: The study aims to determine the (1) burden and related factors of chronic systemic complications of diabetes, including diabetic and nondiabetic ocular conditions in children and adolescents, and (2) quality of life (QoL) of participants compared to healthy controls.

Global Retinoblastoma Treatment Outcomes: Association with National Income Level.

Purpose: To compare metastasis-related mortality, local treatment failure, and globe salvage after retinoblastoma in countries with different national income levels.

Design: International, multicenter, registry-based retrospective case series.

Participants: Two thousand one hundred ninety patients, 18 ophthalmic oncology centers, and 13 countries on 6 continents.

Travel burden and clinical presentation of retinoblastoma: analysis of 1024 patients from 43 African countries and 518 patients from 40 European countries.

Background: The travel distance from home to a treatment centre, which may impact the stage at diagnosis, has not been investigated for retinoblastoma, the most common childhood eye cancer. We aimed to investigate the travel burden and its impact on clinical presentation in a large sample of patients with retinoblastoma from Africa and Europe.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis including 518 treatment-naïve patients with retinoblastoma residing in 40 European countries and 1024 treatment-naïve patients with retinoblastoma residing in 43 African countries.

Incidence and risk factors of retinopathy of prematurity in Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital: a baseline prospective study.

Objective: To determine the incidence of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and any associated risk factors among preterm infants at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH).

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: Level 3 NICU of KBTH from June 2018 to February 2019.

A Multicenter, International Collaborative Study for American Joint Committee on Cancer Staging of Retinoblastoma: Part II: Treatment Success and Globe Salvage.

Purpose: To evaluate the ability of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) 8th edition to predict local tumor control and globe salvage for children with retinoblastoma (RB).

Design: International, multicenter, registry-based retrospective case series.

Participants: A total of 2854 eyes of 2097 patients from 18 ophthalmic oncology centers from 13 countries over 6 continents.

A Multicenter, International Collaborative Study for American Joint Committee on Cancer Staging of Retinoblastoma: Part I: Metastasis-Associated Mortality.

Purpose: To evaluate the ability of the 8th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) Cancer Staging Manual to estimate metastatic and mortality rates for children with retinoblastoma (RB).

Design: International, multicenter, registry-based retrospective case series.

Participants: A total of 2190 patients from 18 ophthalmic oncology centers from 13 countries over 6 continents.

Global Retinoblastoma Presentation and Analysis by National Income Level.

Importance: Early diagnosis of retinoblastoma, the most common intraocular cancer, can save both a child's life and vision. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that many children across the world are diagnosed late. To our knowledge, the clinical presentation of retinoblastoma has never been assessed on a global scale.

Primary Intra-Arterial Chemotherapy for Retinoblastoma in the Intravitreal Chemotherapy Era: Five Years of Experience.

Purpose: To report our 5-year experience with intra-arterial chemotherapy (IAC) in the intravitreal chemotherapy (IvitC) era.

Methods: Retrospective review of retinoblastoma treated with primary unilateral IAC in the IvitC era (2012-2017).

Results: There were 34 eyes treated with IAC alone versus 20 eyes treated with IAC plus IvitC for vitreous seeds.

Visual Outcome of Patients with Pituitary Adenomas Following Surgery and Its Contributory Factors at a Tertiary Hospital in Ghana.

Background: Craniotomy and transphenoidal microsurgery are surgical options for treatment of pituitary adenoma at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital(KBTH). Despite major advances and reported success rates of transphenoidal resection globally, paucity of local data regarding visual outcome of either procedure exists. We evaluated the visual outcome of patient with pituitary adenoma following surgery in a tertiary hospital in Ghana.

Presentation of children with advanced retinoblastoma for treatment in Ghana: the caretakers' perspectives.

Background: Retinoblastoma, the commonest childhood malignant intraocular tumour, is diagnosed late, with less than 50% survival in developing countries, including Ghana.

Objectives: To determine, from caretakers' perspective, contributing factors to late presentation of children with retinoblastoma.

Methods: A cross-sectional study involving questionnaire administration to consenting caretakers of consecutive children diagnosed with advanced retinoblastoma at the Eye Unit, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana, from September 2008-June 2011.

Neuro-Ophthalmic and Clinical Characteristics of Brain Tumours in a Tertiary Hospital in Ghana.

Background: Anecdotally, increasing number of patients are seen at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) with brain tumour. Neuro-ophthalmic symptoms and signs may help in timely diagnosis and intervention.

Objective: To evaluate the neuro-ophthalmic and clinical characteristics of brain tumour in patients presenting at a tertiary hospital in Ghana.

Dermis-fat grafts and enucleation in Ghanaian children: 5 years' experience.

Background: Enucleation in young children often results in retarded orbital growth ipsilaterally. The need for an implant that will naturally grow with the child, like Dermis-fat Graft (DFG), for managing the anophthalmia has been of interest over the years.

Objective: To evaluate the use of DFG as an implant for volume replacement post-enucleation.

Epidemiology and recurrence rate of pterygium post excision in Ghanaians.

Objectives: To determine the epidemiology and recurrence rate of pterygium after excision using bare sclera technique.

Design: Prospective non-comparative study.

Setting: Ophthalmology unit, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana.

Prevalence of congenital eye anomalies in a paediatric clinic in Ghana.

There is little information about the epidemiology of congenital eye anomalies in Ghana. We retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of 485 admissions to the paediatric eye centre of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Ghana (2004-2009) and 263 were diagnosed with at least one anomaly. Visual acuity was quantitatively assessed in 209 patients and 130 had some visual impairment; 49 with bilateral and 64 with unilateral blindness.