Amaç: Yazılı metinlerin okuyucu tarafından ne denli anlaşılabilir olduğu okunabilirlik üzerinden ifade edilir. Bir metnin okunabilirlik düzeyi, çeşitli matematiksel formüller kullanılarak objektif biçimde ölçülebilmektedir. Bu çalışmada piyasadaki göz damlalarının prospektüslerinin okunabilirlik düzeyini tespit etmek amaçlanmıştır.Yöntem: Toplam 75 prospektüs, Türkçe metinler için geliştirilmiş olan Ateşman ve Bezirci–Yılmaz okunabilirlik formülleriyle değerlendirildi.Bulgular: Prospektüsler Ateşman okunabilirlik formülüne göre ortalama 13–15 yıl, Bezirci–Yılmaz okunabilirlik formülüne göre ise ortalama 13 yıl eğitim ile okunabilir bulundu. Sonuç: Prospektüslerin ortalama olarak lisans düzeyinde eğitimle okunabilir olduğu görüldü. Gereken eğitim düzeyi, Türkiye’deki ortalama eğitim düzeyi dikkate alındığında oldukça yüksektir. Prospektüslerin ortalama eğitim düzeyi göz önünde bulundurularak yazılması, reçeteleme sırasında doktorların hastalara göz damlalarının kullanımı ve yan etkileriyle ilgili detaylı bilgi vermesi gerekmektedir.

This study aimed to evaluate the comprehensibility of the consent forms used for interventional procedures in the ophthalmology clinic of a university hospital and to determine which texts could be read according to patient age and education level. Forty separate consent forms used as the standard for various interventional procedures in the ophthalmology department of a university hospital were evaluated. The comprehensibility formulas used were developed for the Turkish language by Ateşman and Bezirci-Yilmaz. As a result of the evaluation of the consent forms in this study, a mean of 55.6±5.73 points was obtained according to the Ateşman comprehensibility index, and this value was found to correspond to being understood by eleventh and twelfth-grade school students. According to the Bezirci-Yilmaz comprehensibility index, the mean points of the consent forms were 10.05±2, which corresponded to a level that could be understood by 10th and 11th-grade students. The comprehensibility level of the consent forms given to patients was found to be low in this study, which was similar to the findings of previous studies in the literature. When preparing informed consent forms, the education level of the country must be taken into consideration.

Background: Workplaces play a critical role in developing ocular diseases, owing to the risk of accidents. This study aimed to evaluate the ocular health of industrial workers by determining the prevalence of foreign body injury, refractive error, dry eye, and pterygium/pingueculae, as well as the factors influencing these diseases. Methods: This study involved on-site examinations of workers from an industrial area hosting marble processing factories and metal sectors. Data such as refractive error, foreign body injury-related corneal nephelium, pterygium/pingueculae presence, and Schirmer test-assisted dry eye evaluation were all collected. Results: The average age of workers was 35.78±10.05 years, with a female-to-male ratio of 20:220. The majority of workers had completed primary school (56.3%), smoked >1 cigarette/day (57.6%), and did not use any assistive devices for bodily functions (88.3%). On average, working hours/week were 55.07±8.79, and working years were 5.99±7.00. Dry eyes were found in 31 (22%), and 35 (34%) marble and metal workers, respectively (p=0.042). 11 (7.9%) marble workers and 29 (28%) metal workers had foreign body ocular injury-related corneal nephelium (p=0.0001). Furthermore, pterygium/pingueculae were revealed in 17 marble workers (12.3%) and three metal workers (3%) (p=0.009). Conclusions: Ocular health is essential, and routine ocular health screening in industrial workers, as well as workplace safety measures, should be implemented to prevent potential occupational accidents.

Objectives: To prospectively evaluate the frequency of ocular findings and inflammation markers levels in patients treated in the intensive care unit due to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection to determine the relationship between these parameters and mortality. Materials and Methods: We prospectively evaluated 53 patients who were treated in the intensive care unit of a pandemic hospital between January 1 and June 30, 2021 and whose SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis was confirmed by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction test from nasopharyngeal swab samples. Ocular findings were evaluated together with white blood cell, neutrophil, lymphocyte count, C-reactive protein, lactate dehydrogenase and ferritin levels, and mortality rate. Results: There was no statistically significant correlation between lactate dehydrogenase, white blood cell, neutrophil, and lymphocyte count elevation and the frequency of inflammatory eye signs (p=0.308, p=0.694, p=0.535, p=0.374). In multivariate analyses, no statistically significant correlation was observed between ferritin level and the frequency of inflammatory eye findings (p=0.087). In addition, for each 1 mg/dL increase in C-reactive protein level, the detection of inflammatory eye findings decreased by 1.9% (95% confidence interval: 3.3%-0.4%; p=0.015). It was determined that 7 of 13 patients with inflammatory eye findings died and this was not statistically significant (p=0.810). Conclusion: Inflammatory examination findings of the ocular surface were detected in 13 (24.5%) of 53 patients treated in the intensive care unit for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Ocular surface examination of patients treated in the intensive care unit due to the SARSCoV-2 epidemic is important.

Background: To investigate the retinochoroidal and optic nerve head (ONH) microstructural and microvascular age-related changes in healthy subjects by examining the ganglion cell–inner plexiform layer thickness (GC-IPLT), vessel density (VD), and their ratio. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 203 subjects (20–69 years old) were divided into five age groups: 20–29 (G1), 30–39 (G2), 40–49 (G3), 50–59 (G4), and 60–69 (G5) (G5). Following a thorough ophthalmological examination, enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT) scanning was performed along with OCT angiography (OCTA) in a 6 × 6 mm² scanning area. Results: After adjusting for axial length the GC-IPLT varied significantly among groups, with thickness peaking in G3 (39.63 ± 1.14 µm) and then decreasing to the lowest in G5 (34.15 ± 5.93 µm) (p = 0.008). The whole, foveal, parafoveal, and perifoveal superficial and deep capillary plexus (SCP and DCP) VDs all varied significantly among groups, peaking in G2 and falling to their lowest in G5 (p < 0.05). No significant differences existed among groups regarding the GC-IPLT/whole SCP VD (p = 0.163) or GC-IPLT/whole DCP VD (p = 0.258) ratios. The foveal VDs in a 300-μm wide region surrounding the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) (FD-300) varied significantly among groups, peaking in G1 (57.06 ± 0.58) and dropping to its lowest in G5 (53.54 ± 0.59) (p < 0.05). The choriocapillaris flow differed significantly among groups, peaking in G1 (20.39 ± 0.15 mm²) and dropping to its lowest in G5 (19.24 ± 0.16 mm²) (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The retinochoroidal microstructure and microvasculature ratios display an inverted U-shaped pattern with age, which could be linked to a considerably decreased GC-IPLT versus capillary plexus VDs with age, notably in subjects in their sixties.

Aim: To compare the impact of competency in intravitreal injection therapy (IVIT)-related simpler versus standard consent forms (CFs). Material and methods: Four hundred patients scheduled for IVIT in a tertiary hospital were enrolled between April 1, 2022 and June 30, 2022. These patients were eligible for the study if they had their first IVIT in one eye; those scheduled for IVIT in the other eye were not. Data, including age, gender, educational level, whether the patient was admitted alone or with a companion, and prior IVIT status were collected. A trained clinic secretary first gave the patients the commonly used standard CFs, followed by simpler CFs. Results: The mean age was 66.10±9.90 years. 93.80% had previously received IVIT. 53.80% of the patients consented on their own. While 98.00% consented without reading standard CFs, 56.00% consented after reading simpler CFs (p<0.001). The need for IVIT-related extra information and the desire against having IVIT were significantly higher in simpler than standard CFs (p<0.001). 5.00% of those who approved IVIT without reading both forms were illiterate, and 29.20% had vision issues. The probability of simpler CF reading increased by 4.653 and 7.510 times in high school and university graduates, respectively, relative to primary school graduates. Conclusion: Simpler CFs had a much higher reading rate, which was linked to a higher rate of patients opting against IVIT. In medical fields like ophthalmology, where many procedures and research are performed, ethically approved informed consent requires consideration of patients' education and prior treatment experience.