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Assessment of the association of various lifestyle factors and wellness and health status in patients with Behcet’s disease was the main goal of this study.

Demographic information, body mass index, smoking habit, mood status, sleep quality, physical activity levels, nutritional data, symptoms, signs, laboratory findings and patient reported outcome (self-rated wellness and health) in 52 patients with Behcet’s disease were collected in this cross-sectional study. A multivariable linear regression model was used to assess the association of self-rated wellness and health status and lifestyle factors, adjusted for age, sex, BMI, major symptoms and signs, as well as laboratory findings.

Female to male ratio was 21/31, and the mean age of participants was 44 years. Mean self-rated wellness and health score was 14.6 out of 20. Oral and genital aphthous, ocular involvement, pathergy, and skin involvement were observed in 100, 52, 92, 36.5, and 9.5% of patients, respectively. The mean values of sleep, mood and nutrition quality scores were 17.7 (out of 70), 13.8 (out of 35), and 9 (out of 21), respectively. Univariable regression analysis showed a significant association between sleep quality, mood status, and disease duration, with patients’ status in terms of self-rated wellness and health. In multivariable linear regression, sleep quality was the only significant predictive variable associated with self-rated wellness and health.

Sleep quality was the most important factor associated with low self-rated wellness and health status in patients with Behcet’s disease.

Sleep quality was the most important factor associated with low self-rated wellness and health status in patients with Behcet’s disease.

Vertical reading is an adaptive reading strategy sometimes used in homonymous hemianopia. This study aimed to measure horizontal and vertical reading speeds in visually normal volunteers using the Radner Reading Chart.

Fifteen orthoptic students, mean age 19.7 years, took part in this repeated measures study. Participants read sentences aloud from the Radner Reading Chart horizontally and rotated vertically, to read up and down the line. Words read correctly and the time taken to read each sentence were recorded.

Reading speeds were calculated (words read correctly per second) for horizontal text (2.95 words per second) and for vertical text, reading up the line (1.73 words per second) and reading down the line (1.57 words per second). Sodiumascorbate Reading horizontal text was significantly faster than reading vertical text. Reading horizontal text was 1.22 words per second faster than reading text vertically up (p < 0.0001) and 1.38 words per second faster than text vertically down (p < 0.0001). There was no statistically significant difference between reading text vertically up the line and vertically down the line (0.16 words per second, p = 0.42).

Horizontal reading speed, measured with the Radner Reading Chart, was significantly faster than both vertical reading speeds. There was no significant difference between reading vertically up the line and reading vertically down the line. The slower time taken to read the vertically orientated sentences had a greater effect on reading speed than the number of errors made.

Horizontal reading speed, measured with the Radner Reading Chart, was significantly faster than both vertical reading speeds. There was no significant difference between reading vertically up the line and reading vertically down the line. The slower time taken to read the vertically orientated sentences had a greater effect on reading speed than the number of errors made.

COVID-19 has widely impacted hospital services. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of COVID-19 on Orthoptists and their clinical practice in the UK, Ireland, and Channel Islands.

We conducted a prospective survey-based cross-sectional study using an online survey aiming for coverage of orthoptic departments across the UK, Ireland, and Channel Islands. We circulated the online survey through the British and Irish Orthoptic Society that reaches over 95% of UK and Irish orthoptic services, and through social media and orthoptic research networks.

The survey response rate was 79%. The survey was completed by orthoptic departments, on average 10 days post lockdown. Many orthoptic services were cancelled/paused with remaining services largely reserved for emergency cases and urgent care. A substantial rise in tele-consultations was reported by 94%, which largely consisted of telephone and video calls and which was regarded generally as working well. Barriers to tele-consultations were mainly IT related but with concerns also raised regarding ethical and confidentiality issues. Shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) was reported by one third of departments along with issues relating to conflicting information about the use of PPE.

We have reported information on the changing face of orthoptic clinical practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey has highlighted emerging tele-consultation practice and the importance of centralised profession-specific guidelines.

We have reported information on the changing face of orthoptic clinical practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey has highlighted emerging tele-consultation practice and the importance of centralised profession-specific guidelines.Current literature reports synergistic divergence as a rare, congenital ocular motility pattern associated with adduction palsy. Its mechanism has been likened to Duane’s syndrome, and some suggest it be referred to as Duane’s Type 4 (Gupta et al. 2010; Schliesser et al. 2016; Wilcox et al. 1981; Khan et al. 2016). There are no published reports of synergistic divergence as an acquired condition, making this case report seemingly the first of its kind. This case report describes an 18-year-old female who presented to clinic in 2013 with symptoms of diplopia and left eye turning outwards. Orthoptic assessment and MRI confirmed a third nerve palsy secondary to cavernous sinus schwannoma. Further monitoring showed progression of the cranial nerve palsy but a stable schwannoma and no aberrant regeneration noted in five years of follow up. The patient was treated with multiple botulinum toxin injections and had squint correction surgery in 2017. Seven months later, synergistic divergence was first noted and remained stable in all following assessments.