Original articleImpact of Trichiasis Surgery on Physical Functioning in Ethiopian Patients: STAR Trial
Section snippets
Methods
This study was nested within the Surgery for Trichiasis, Antibiotics to Prevent Recurrence (STAR) clinical trial. The STAR trial is a randomized, single-masked clinical trial of antibiotic use in 1452 patients who received trichiasis surgery in the Wolayta Soddo zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region (SNNPR) of Ethiopia. The primary aim was to determine whether postoperative treatment with azithromycin reduces trichiasis recurrence as compared to topical tetracycline
Results
Of the 438 participants, 18 (4.1%) did not have baseline questionnaires, and 9 (2.1%) were not present at follow-up; 5 of 9 had developed recurrent trichiasis before the 6-month follow-up. Thus, 411 participants had both baseline and follow-up questionnaires. Most of these 411 participants were female (74.5%). At baseline, 131 of the 411 participants (31.9%) had severe entropion, and 330 (80.3%) had surgery on both eyelids (Table 1). When comparing these 411 participants to the 27 participants
Discussion
Data from this study suggest that in addition to improving vision, trichiasis surgery can result in improvement in physical functioning at 6 months following surgery. Individuals with the most severe impairment at baseline showed the largest gains in physical functioning at 6 months after surgery. These individuals included those with severe entropion, worse baseline vision in the better eye, and worse baseline physical functioning score. These cases clearly had the most to gain from surgical
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