·AIM: To report a rare case of melioidosis presenting as orbital abscess, who was successfully treated with highdose of intravenous ceftazidime.·METHODS; A case" report.·RESULTS; A 55-year-old Malay gentlemen who was newly diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, presented with prolonged low grade fever for three weeks and left eye swelling for five days duration. Initial CT scan of brain and orbit showed left periorbital cellulitis and acute left sphenoidal sinusitis. Initial swab culture grew Pseudo-monas sp. His general condition improved with regular antibiotics. However, upon completion of intravenous therapy his condition worsened and the left eye became more proptosed. Repeat CT scan of the brain and orbit showed left eye orbital abscess with intracranial exten? sion. Swab culture from fistula of the lateral part of upper eyelid showed Burkholderia pseudomallei. He was treated with high dose of intravenous ceftazidime, oral co-trimoxazole for the acute management and on maintenance dose of oral co-trimoxazole for 2 months. He responded well to treatment and had no relapse up to one year post treatment. Unfortunately his left eye vision was not salvageable.·CONCLUSION: This case illustrates a rare presentation of orbital abscess due to melioidosis which was complicated with cerebral abscess and septicemia. An accurate diagnosis was essential and high dose of susceptible antibiotics was important for the institution of therapy to successfully treat this potentially fatal condition.

A 43 year-old man presented with pain on the right tooth for three days duration. Computed tomography showed left orbital cellulitis and right parapharyngeal abscess. There was also evidence suggestive of a dental abscess over right upper alveolar region. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed left superior ophthalmic vein thrombosis. Emergency drainage of the right parapharyngeal abscess was performed. Right maxillary molar extraction revealed periapical abscess. Left eye proptosis markedly reduced after initiating heparin.
Abscess ; Orbital cellulitis ; Carbon ion ; Ipsilateral ; Contralateral

·A 20-year-old healthy lady was admitted for septic arthritis in the right knee. Two weeks after the onset of joint pain, she complained progressive blurring of vision in both eyes. Slit-lamp examination revealed evidence of inflammation in both anterior and posterior segments. There were multiple chorioretinal lesions on both fundi. Synovial fluid aspiration of the right knee and blood culture grew Staphylococcus aureus . She responded well to topical and systemic antibiotics. Her final visual acuity was 6/6 in both eyes. This case illustrates a rare presentation of bilateral endogenous endophthalmitis in an immunocompetent young patient presenting with a concurrent septic arthritis. Early diagnosis and a prompt management carry a favorable visual prognosis.

A 21-year-old and an 11-year-old patients presented with severe,resistant shield ulcers failed to respond to medical treatments which included topical steroids,mast cell stabilizers and antihistamines. Both of them were treated with surgical debridement of the ulcer,supratarsal injection of triamcinolone acetonide,topical cyclosporine 0.5g/L and ketotifen fumerate 0.25g/L. The ulcers healed well after three weeks. Topical cyclosporine was discontinued after two months in both patients. They were symptom free with no recurrence for six months. Combination of surgical debridement of the ulcer,supratarsal injection of triamcinolone acetonide,topical cyclosporine 0.5g/L and ketotifen fumerate 0.25g/L are effective as the treatment option in managing patients with severe vernal shield ulcer.KEYWORDS: vernal shield ulcer; surgical debridement; supratarsal injection of triamcinolone acetonide; cyclosporine; ketotifen fumerate

An interventional case-report about a rare case of penetrating eye injury caused by a fish hook. A 34-year old man was brought to the emergency department with a fish hook embedded in the eye. The fish hook occupied the whole globe with part of it penetrated into the posterior part of the sclera. It was extracted under general anaesthesia using the back-out method.The back-out method is the best option for the removal of the fish hook that penetrated the globe till to the posterior part of the sclera

AIM: To study the association between lipid profile and retinal hard exudates in diabetic retinopathy (DR) and the association between oxidized-LDL with systemic diseases among type 2 diabetic patients.another 40 patients without DR. Demographic data was collected and comprehensive ocular examination was performed. Nine mL venous blood was taken for fasting serum cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, LDL, ox-LDL, and for HbA1C. Compared to patients without retinopathy 5.0±1.03mmol/L (P=0.001). The mean serum LDL was 3.6±1.69mmol/L in retinopathy group compared to 3.0±1.02mmol/L in the contol group (P=0.005). There was a higher concentration of serum cholesterol, triglyceride and LDL in patients with severe retinal hard exudates compared to those with mild and moderate, however it was not statistically significant (P=0.082, 0.116, 0.218) respectively. The mean serum oxidized-LDL concentration was higher in DR with severe retinal hard exudates compared to mild and moderate. There was no statistically significant difference in the mean oxidized LDL with other systemic diseases or duration of diabetes.and LDL with DR. However there was no association between serum lipid profile with the severity of retinal hard exudates. Serum ox-LDL was also not associated with DR and other systemic co-morbidities in our study.

A 25-year man presented with symptom of photophobia and tearing in the right eye for 2 months duration. It was associated with painless gradual reduced vision. There was a history of hammering on a metal object prior to that. Ocular examination revealed signs of mild anterior uveitis due to a retained metallic intralenticular foreign body. Conjunctiva was white. Computed Tomography (CT) scan of the orbit confirmed presence of a single intraocular foreign body. The condition is misleading and can be easily overlooked. A detailed history and clinical examination are mandatory in this misleading situation.

There are limited data in the literature on the optic disc topography in normal tension glaucoma (NTG) patients in Asian countries, especially in Southeast Asia. This study is aimed at comparing optic disc topography in NTG patients and a control group in Malaysia, and we discuss the literature on NTG studies in other Asian populations. A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted in two hospitals with glaucoma services in Malaysia from November 2010 to February 2012. A total of 109 eyes of 109 Malay patients were included in this study: 32 NTG patients and 77 subjects in the control group. All participants underwent a thorough ocular examination, including visual acuity, subjective refraction, anterior segment and fundus examinations, Humphrey visual field 24-2, intraocular pressure measurement, gonioscopy examination and fundus photography. Optic disc topography was assessed using the Heidelberg Retinal Tomograph III by an identified masked investigator in each hospital. NTG patients had a notably larger disc area (2.65 (0.41) vs 2.19 (0.43) mm(2), respectively), larger cupping (1.54 (0.43) vs 0.63 (0.40) mm(2), respectively), smaller retinal rim areas (1.12 (0.41) vs 1.56 (0.33) mm(2), respectively), higher cup volume (0.47 (0.28) vs 0.11 (0.19) mm(3), respectively), reduced rim volume (0.23 (0.13) vs 0.41 (0.16) mm(3), respectively), higher cup to disc area ratio (0.58 (0.14) vs 0.27 (0.15), respectively), higher linear cup to disc ratio (0.76 (0.09) vs 0.49 (0.17) mm(2), respectively), higher mean cup depth (0.37 (0.09) vs 0.22 (0.09) mm, respectively), higher maximum cup depth (0.77 (0.16) vs 0.59 (0.20) mm, respectively), higher mean of cup shape measure (-0.04 (0.06) vs -0.16 (0.07), respectively), and thinner mean retinal nerve fibre layer thickness (0.15 (0.15) vs 0.24 (0.07) mm, respectively) compared to the control group (p<0.05). In conclusion, most of the optic disc parameters were significantly different in NTG patients compared to healthy individuals in Malaysia. Our findings are comparable to those reported in NTG studies in other Asian countries.

Although few studies concerning optic neuritis (ON) in Asian countries have been reported, there is no report about ON in Malaysia particularly within the Malay population. We aimed to determine the clinical manifestation, visual outcome and aetiology of ON in Malays, and discussed the literature of ON studies in other Asian populations. This was a retrospective study involving 31 consecutive patients (41 eyes) with ON treated at Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia commencing from July 2005 till January 2010 with a period of follow-up ranging from 18-60 months. The clinical features, laboratory results, possible aetiology, and visual acuity after one year were analysed. Females were the predominant group. The age of the patients ranged between 3-55 years and peaked between 21-30 years old. 67.7% of the patients had unilateral involvement. Pain on ocular movement was observed in 31.7% of the affected eyes. 73.3% of 41 involved eyes showed visual acuity equal 6/60 or worse on presentation. Paracentral scotoma was the most common visual field defect noted. Optic disc papillitis proved more widespread compared to the retrobulbar type of ON. The aetiology was idiopathic in more than 50%, while the risk of multiple sclerosis was extremely low (3.2%) in our series. 66.0% demonstrating visual acuity improved to 6/12 or better at one year after the attack. 16.1% showed evidence of recurrence during follow-up. In conclusion, the clinical profile and aetiology of ON in Malay patients are comparable to other ON studies reported by other Asian countries.

·Acquired uniocular blindness in pediatric group deserves an urgent attention. The blindness usually results from mechanical injury to the globe. It is one of the leading causes of acquired blindness in this group. Most of the ocular injuries were accidental and resulted from mechanical trauma. Firecracker is one of the potential causes for acquired uniocular blindness. The nature of injury varies from mild to severe, penetrating or blunt trauma, chemical or thermal. The irreversible nature of the visual loss is preventable. Public awareness will be one of the main contributors in preventing the ocular morbidity.