16 Reliability and efficiency of corneal thickness measurements using sterile donor tomography in the eye bank.

Purpose: To evaluate the reliability and efficiency of sterile corneal thickness measurements of donor corneas stored in a plastic culture flask filled with organ culture medium I (MI) or II (MII) based on tomographic data using two different software: the built-in software of the anterior segment OCT (AS-OCT) and a MATLAB self-programmed software.

Methods: Twenty-five (25) donor corneas (50%) stored in MI and 25 (50%) in MII were imaged 5 times consecutively using an AS-OCT. The central corneal thickness (CCT) was measured both with the manual measurement tool of the AS-OCT (=CCTm) and with a MATLAB self-programmed software allowing (semi-)automated analysis (=CCTa).

Antibiotic prescription after tooth extraction in adults: a retrospective cohort study in Austria.

Background: Broad spectrum antibiotics are often used for the prophylaxis of infectious endocarditis and treatment of odontogenic infections, but there are limited data related to antibiotic use and adherence to prescription guidelines.  METHODS: Data from patients with tooth extraction between 2014 and 2018 were selected from a database of a regional health insurance fund. We created three data sets, one based on all tooth extractions, one on multiple teeth extractions, and one including only single tooth extraction.

Reliability and efficiency of corneal thickness measurements using sterile donor tomography in the eye bank.

To evaluate the reliability and efficiency of sterile pachymetric measurements of donor corneas based on tomographic data using two different methods: a "manual" and a "(semi-)automated" method. Twenty-five (25) donor corneas (50%) stored in MI and 25 (50%) in MII were imaged 5 times consecutively using an anterior segment OCT (AS-OCT). The central corneal thickness (CCT) was measured both with the manual measurement tool of the AS-OCT (= CCTm) and with a MATLAB self-programmed software allowing (semi-)automated analysis (= CCTa).

OCT Application for Sterile Corneal Graft Screening in the Eye Bank.

Background And Objective: Sterile donor tomography enables the detection of corneal tissues with refractive anomalies. The aim of this study was to determine the curvature and thickness of donor corneas to support proper selection in the eye bank.

Methods: 704 donor corneas (Klaus Faber Center, LIONS Eye Bank Saar-Lor-Lux, Trier/Westpfalz, in Homburg/Saar) were measured using the anterior segment optical coherence tomograph (AS-OCT) CASIA 2 (Tomey Corp.

Thickness and Curvature Changes of Human Corneal Grafts in Dextran-Containing Organ Culture Medium Before Keratoplasty.

Purpose: To determine the changes of corneal thickness and curvature of human corneal grafts in organ culture medium II, containing dextran T500 6%, before keratoplasty.

Methods: We examined the tomography of 24 corneas from our eye bank transferred from medium I into medium II. Images were repeated hourly during 24 hours using an anterior segment optical coherence tomography.

"Harmonization" of donor and recipient tomography in corneal transplantation.

The applicability of donor and recipient tissue matching in corneal transplantation ("harmonization") to reduce residual astigmatism after keratoplasty was simulated using Matlab software. The height profile of the donor and recipient corneas was measured using the anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) Casia 2. After best fit of the donor button in the recipient bed the mean height difference as the mismatch, which had to be minimized, was derived from the height profile of the donor and recipient corneal front and back surfaces.

[Concept for 3D measurement of corneal donor tissue using a clinical OCT].

Purpose: We present a concept for non-contact tomographic measurement and characterization of corneal donor tissue within the cell culture medium. The purpose is to screen corneal tissue for pathologies or alterations after refractive surgery.

Methods: Image acquisition is performed with the clinical anterior segment optical coherence tomography (OCT) Casia 2 (Tomey Corp.

Comparison of Corneal Tomography: Repeatability, Precision, Misalignment, Mean Elevation, and Mean Pachymetry.

Purpose: To compare corneal tomography and its statistical uncertainty for measurements obtained by three clinically used corneal tomographers: A Scheimpflug camera (Pentacam HR), a swept source optical coherence tomography system (CASIA SS-1000), and Placido ring imaging (TMS-5).

Material And Methods: Repeated measurements with all three devices on 34 normal eyes were used to estimate the repeatability, precision, and mean values of corneal elevation and pachymetry within 8 mm diameter. The repeatability (standard deviation) was calculated for each data point of the corneal elevation data-maps of anterior and posterior cornea as well as for the pachymetry data-maps.

Illness appraisals and depression in the first year after HIV diagnosis.

Illness appraisals provide important context to help understand the way individuals cope with chronic illness. In the present study, a qualitative approach to the analysis of HIV diagnosis experience narratives in a sample of 100 people newly diagnosed with HIV revealed five groups that differed in their initial illness appraisals: HIV as Chronic Illness, Concern about Dying, Stigmatization, Threat to Identity, and Other Threats Overshadow HIV. When compared on quantitatively measured depressive mood, the groups differed on level and trajectory over the course of the first year post-diagnosis.

A positive affect intervention for people experiencing health-related stress: development and non-randomized pilot test.

In this article we present background, theoretical rationale, and pilot data on the development of an intervention designed to increase positive affect in people living with serious health-related stress. This proof-of-concept study demonstrated that a multiple-component positive affect intervention is feasible and acceptable for people newly diagnosed with HIV. Retention in the intervention and adherence to home practice were high.

"I'm sorry, you're positive": a qualitative study of individual experiences of testing positive for HIV.

New CDC guidelines for HIV testing as well as the introduction of rapid tests may increase the number of HIV tests conducted in the USA and make testing a more routine part of medical care. However, little is currently known about the experience of those receiving positive results. In this study, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 50 participants who had recently learned they were HIV positive in the San Francisco Bay Area.

A novel clinical-trial design for the study of massage therapy.

Objectives: To develop and test the feasibility and acceptability of a structured design for a massage therapy clinical trial that included a treatment arm designed to control for the non-specific effects of a massage therapy intervention.

Design: Pilot randomized controlled clinical trial.

Setting: University-integrated medicine research clinic.