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How to pass the Refraction Certificate

Unfortunately, I had the pleasure of getting to know this exam intimately. With adequate preparation this does not have to be the case for most people. The exam has recently changed to consist of 10 OSCE style stations (previously 12)....

Orbital cellulitis - an overview of the diagnosis and management

Periorbital (preseptal) and orbital cellulitis are infections of the subcutaneous tissues of the eye. They are differentiated by the location of the infection. Periorbital cellulitis refers to infection of the eyelid and subcutaneous tissues anterior to the orbital septum, whereas...

In vivo confocal microscopy, principles and use in keratitis Part 1: Principles

In 1968 Maurice introduced the concept of high powered specular microscopy, it was in that very year that the first scanning confocal microscope was proposed. Marvin Minsky developed the first confocal microscope in 1955 named the ‘double focusing scanning microscope’....

Quiz Aug/Sep 2022

History A 58-year-old female patient was referred with a 2-year history, gradually enlarging, painless left upper lid lump. There was no bleeding or ulceration. She had no other eye symptoms and no other skin lesions. Her past medical history included:...

Quiz Dec/Jan 2020

History A 69-year-old female patient was referred to the uveitis clinic from her local district general hospital with a left posterior uveitis which had been unresponsive to high dose steroids. She had no other previous ophthalmic history nor significant systems...

A case of bilateral idiopathic sclerochoroidal calcification

Idiopathic sclerochoroidal calcification (ISC) is a rare, benign disorder of the choroid and sclera. We present a visually asymptomatic 83-year-old caucasian male with clinical findings bilaterally of ISC, and discuss the investigations required to confirm diagnosis and help prevent further...

Cortical blindness

Cortical blindness is a rare but recognised entity. Cerebrovascular accident is a well-known risk factor. We report a case of an 84-year-old lady with bilateral cortical blindness with multiple cardiovascular risk factors. Case report An 84-year-old lady was admitted under...

Blurred vision post liver transplant: to blame the house cat or not?

This article outlines a case of atypical ocular toxoplasmosis associated with immunosuppression. There were two potential sources of infection in this patient and we describe how we concluded which was the most likely. Case report A 33-year-old female was referred...

Acute retinal necrosis presumably caused by Epstein-Barr virus infection

Acute retinal necrosis (ARN) is an uncommon, but serious and potentially blinding condition. ARN is characterised by panuveitis, occlusive vasculopathy and progressive peripheral necrotising retinitis. The diagnosis is clinical but confirmation is sought via aqueous and vitreous sampling. Varicella zoster...

Disseminated cutaneous zoster – a masquerade

Reactivation of varicella zoster infection in the elderly commonly presents to ophthalmologists as herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO), affecting the Va trigeminal dermatome. In patients with impaired immunity, zoster infection occurs with increased severity and may be complicated by visceral and...