Purpose: We report a case of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated optic neuritis with glomerulonephritis.Case summary: A 66-year-old male with a history of acute kidney injury presented with decreased visual acuity in both eyes. His best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 0.15 in the right eye and 0.6 in the left eye. Both eyes showed optic disc swelling and Ishihara’s tests were 1/17. He was treated with intravenous methylprednisolone for 3 days to treat presumed bilateral optic neuritis. In follow-up, anti-myeloperoxidase antibody (anti-MPO antibody, p-ANCA) was positive at 32.0 IU/mL and ANCA-associated chronic sclerosing glomerulonephritis was found in the left kidney biopsy. He is currently being followed-up on oral steroids in the outpatient clinic. Kidney function improved immediately after high-dose steroid therapy. After 3 months of treatment, optic disc swelling resolved. On the other hand, there was minimal improvement in visual acuity. Conclusions In ANCA-associated optic neuritis with glomerulonephritis, both optic disc swelling and kidney function improved with steroid therapy. On the other hand, there was only a small improvement in visual acuity.

Purpose: We report a case of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated optic neuritis with glomerulonephritis.Case summary: A 66-year-old male with a history of acute kidney injury presented with decreased visual acuity in both eyes. His best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 0.15 in the right eye and 0.6 in the left eye. Both eyes showed optic disc swelling and Ishihara’s tests were 1/17. He was treated with intravenous methylprednisolone for 3 days to treat presumed bilateral optic neuritis. In follow-up, anti-myeloperoxidase antibody (anti-MPO antibody, p-ANCA) was positive at 32.0 IU/mL and ANCA-associated chronic sclerosing glomerulonephritis was found in the left kidney biopsy. He is currently being followed-up on oral steroids in the outpatient clinic. Kidney function improved immediately after high-dose steroid therapy. After 3 months of treatment, optic disc swelling resolved. On the other hand, there was minimal improvement in visual acuity. Conclusions In ANCA-associated optic neuritis with glomerulonephritis, both optic disc swelling and kidney function improved with steroid therapy. On the other hand, there was only a small improvement in visual acuity.

Background and Objectives: Oropharyngeal cancers (OPCs) can be staged down to a lower stage with p16 positivity and de-escalated therapy has been the common practice. The aim of this study is to evaluate the survival outcomes based on various clinical factors in advanced OPC patients. Subjects and Method A total of 58 OPC patients in the stage IVA based on the American Joint Committee on Cancer 7th edition were treated with primary surgery or primary chemoradiation therapy from 2010 to 2016. A survival analysis was carried out using the Kaplan- Meier method, log-rank test, and Cox proportional hazards model. Results: The median follow-up was 39.5 months. Thirty-eight and 20 patients received surgery- based and radiation therapy (RT)-based treatments, respectively. Clinical T-stage and treatment method were significant risk factors for 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate, and the treatment method was the only significant risk factor for overall-survival (OS) rate. 5-year DFS rate in the surgery-based treatment and RT-based treatment was 76.1% and 36.0% (p=0.001). On multivariate analysis, the surgery-based treatment group was associated with a significantly reduced hazard of death [the hazard ratio (HR) for the radiation-based treatment was 6.565 compared to the surgery-based treatment, p=0.002]. 5-year OS rate in the surgery-based treatment and RT-based treatment was 91.1% and 53.4% (p=0.003), respectively. On the multivariate analysis, the surgery-based treatment group was associated with a significantly reduced hazard of death (the HR for the radiation-based treatment was 7.544 compared to the surgerybased treatment, p=0.012). Conclusion The primary surgery-based treatment for advanced OPC showed a better survival outcome than the primary radiation-based treatment, irrespective of p16 positivity.

Purpose: To investigate clinical factors affecting subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) and choroidal vascularity index (CVI) after cataract surgery. Methods: A retrospective medical record review was performed of 62 patients (95 eyes) who underwent cataract surgery. The SFCT and CVI were calculated based on cross-section measurements obtained from enhanced depth imaging-optical coherence tomography preoperatively and postoperatively at 1 week, 1 month, and 2 months. The changes in SFCT and CVI were analyzed with respect to anesthesia, diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension (HTN), and phaco power/time. Results: Regardless of anesthesia, DM, or HTN, SFCT had increased at 1 week postoperatively and continued to decrease up to 2 months postoperatively. In the case of topical anesthesia and patients without DM or HTN, the CVI was significantly higher at 1 month postoperatively, but was followed by a steady reduction up to the 2-month follow-up. In the case of retrobulbar anesthesia and patients with DM or HTN, the CVI increased up to 2 months postoperatively. Conclusions In this study, clinical factors had a significant impact on the change in CVI after surgery, but not on the SFCT. This suggests that the presence of DM affects the change in the choroidal vessels after cataract surgery.

Purpose: To investigate clinical factors affecting subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) and choroidal vascularity index (CVI) after cataract surgery. Methods: A retrospective medical record review was performed of 62 patients (95 eyes) who underwent cataract surgery. The SFCT and CVI were calculated based on cross-section measurements obtained from enhanced depth imaging-optical coherence tomography preoperatively and postoperatively at 1 week, 1 month, and 2 months. The changes in SFCT and CVI were analyzed with respect to anesthesia, diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension (HTN), and phaco power/time. Results: Regardless of anesthesia, DM, or HTN, SFCT had increased at 1 week postoperatively and continued to decrease up to 2 months postoperatively. In the case of topical anesthesia and patients without DM or HTN, the CVI was significantly higher at 1 month postoperatively, but was followed by a steady reduction up to the 2-month follow-up. In the case of retrobulbar anesthesia and patients with DM or HTN, the CVI increased up to 2 months postoperatively. Conclusions In this study, clinical factors had a significant impact on the change in CVI after surgery, but not on the SFCT. This suggests that the presence of DM affects the change in the choroidal vessels after cataract surgery.

Purpose: To compare the retinal and choroidal vessels of chronic alcoholics with non-alcoholics. Methods: This study included alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) patients admitted between December 2020 and October 2021, along with age-matched controls. Retinal and choroidal vessel densities, measured using image binarization at the superficial capillary plexus (SCP), deep capillary plexus (DCP), choriocapillaris, and choroidal layers, were compared between ALD patients and controls. Correlations between clinical parameters and vessel densities in ALD patients were also analyzed. Results: Vessel densities at SCP, DCP, choriocapillaris, and choroidal layers were not significantly different between controls and ALD patients (p = 0.496, 0.988, 0.909, and 0.317, respectively). Platelet time and international normalized ratio (INR) were positively correlated with SCP density in ALD patients (r = 0.393 and 0.393; p = 0.015 and 0.015, respectively). Conclusions ALD does not significantly affect vessel densities in the retina and choroid. The positive correlations of platelet time and INR with SCP may be related to vessel dilatation, but they require further investigation.

OBJECTIVE: Sleep disturbance is common in the elderly, which is result from multi-factorial causes encompassing socio-demographic, behavioral, and clinical factors. We aimed to identify factors associated with insomnia among the elderly in a rural community in South Korea, a country with a rapidly growing aged population. METHODS: This cross-sectional study used the data from the second wave of the Korean Social life, Health and Ageing Project, which is a cohort study of individuals living in a typical rural community in South Korea. Socio-demographic, behavioral, and clinical characteristics were obtained through face-to-face interviews. Various factors suspected to be associated with insomnia were compared between elderly participants with and without insomnia, and multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify independent risk factors for insomnia. RESULTS: We found that 32.4% of 509 participants (72.8±7.7 years old) had insomnia. Female sex [odds ratio (OR)=2.19], low education level (OR=2.44), current smoking (OR=2.26), number of chronic diseases (OR=2.21 for 2–3 chronic diseases; OR=2.06 for 4 or more chronic diseases), and depression (OR=2.53) were independently associated with insomnia. CONCLUSION: We found that sex, education, chronic disease, and depression independently increase the risk of insomnia of the elderly in a Korean rural community. To overcome the elderly's insomnia, interventions should target modifiable factors such as depression. To promote active aging, longitudinal studies of factors associated with insomnia among the elderly should be performed in different regions and communities.
Aged* ; Aging ; Chronic Disease ; Cohort Studies ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Depression ; Education ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Longitudinal Studies ; Republic of Korea ; Risk Factors ; Rural Population* ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders* ; Smoke ; Smoking