Abstract
Purpose:
To evaluate patient compliance with the face-down positioning (FDP) after vitrectomy and gas tamponade.
Methods:
The nursing records of one hundred and ninety-six patients, 82 females and 114 males who underwent a primary vitrectomy and 20% SF6 gas tamponade for a macular hole (MH: 69 patients, 37 females and 32 males) or retinal detachments (RRDs: 127 patients, 45 females and 82 males) at Fujita Health University Hospital (FHUH, Toyoake, Japan) in a one year up to March 2013 were retrospectively examined. In the ophthalmic ward of FHUH, whether or not each patient stays in the FDP is routinely recorded on nurse rounding sheets. Patients were advised to remain in the FDP for more than seven days. For a three-day after the surgery, four times a day at about 12am, 6am, 12pm and 6pm, in case the patient maintained the FDP, he or she scored one point each time to accumulate a twelve-point scale, FDP score.
Results:
The mean FDP score was 10.3 ± 1.9 (SD) out of 12, and females (10.8 ± 1.4) scored significantly higher than males (10.0 ± 2.1, Mann-Whitney U-test, P<0.01). Low scorers less than 8 were nineteen (9.7%), 2 females (2.4%) and 17 males (14.9%). Patients of MH who failed to have primary closure were only two (2.9%) and both scored the lowest (4 and 6). On the other hand, one patient (0.8%) of RRDs failed to achieve retinal attachment, scored a perfect 12.
Conclusions:
Poor compliance with the FDP was more prevalent among male patients than females. It was a probable cause of the failure of macular hole closure, however its contribution to the prognosis of RRDs remained unclear.
Keywords: 586 macular holes •
697 retinal detachment •
762 vitreoretinal surgery