Sensitivity and specificity of the step VEP in suspected functional visual acuity loss.

Background/aim: Early and accurate diagnosis of functional visual loss (FVL) allows optimum management. Visual evoked potentials (VEPs) offer a means of objectively estimating acuity and therefore could assist with early and accurate diagnosis. The aim of this study was to assess the sensitivity and specificity of the step VEP in diagnosing FVL.

First-year experience of chemotherapy for advanced retinoblastoma in Tanzania: disease profile, outcomes, and challenges in 2008.

Purpose: To examine the profile of retinoblastoma in a national tertiary referral center in Tanzania and to report first-year outcomes of its treatment using chemotherapy.

Methods: All patients with retinoblastoma referred in 2008 were included. Disease was classified on clinical grounds as ocular, orbital, or metastatic.

Goldmann tonometry versus the Tono-Pen XL for intraocular pressure measurement: an evaluation of the potential impact on clinical decision making in glaucoma.

Aim: To assess the validity of the Tono-Pen XL as an alternative to the Goldmann applanation tonometer (GAT) for the measurement of intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with ocular hypertension (OHT) and glaucoma.

Methods: Over a 3 month period, patients with OHT or glaucoma attending a general clinic had IOP measurements taken using the Tono-Pen XL and the GAT. Tono-Pen measurements were taken by suitably trained nursing staff, while Goldmann tonometry was performed by the examining ophthalmologist.