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Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Assessing Early Stage Open-Angle Glaucoma in Patients by Isolated-Check Visual Evoked Potential
Published on: May 25, 2020
Ocular problems in Brazilian patients with AIDS before and in highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) era
Marcia Lopes Rodrigues1, Maria de Lourdes Veronese Rodrigues, José Fernando de Castro Figueiredo
1Department of Ophthalmology, Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, University of São Paulo, 14048-900 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
Abstract:
This study determined the total frequency of patients with AIDS and ophthalmologic problems before and after the introduction of combined highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), regardless of the use of this treatment; it also determined the frequency of external ocular diseases, intraocular infections and inflammations, and problems of the anterior portion of the optic nerve in these two groups of patients; and it determined the differences in the frequency of ophthalmologic problems in patients receiving HAART or not. This was a retrospective study of 207 patients examined using the same protocol, from June 1995 to February 1998 (n=58, pre-HAART era) and from March 1998 to May 2005 (n=149, HAART era). The frequency of ophthalmologic problems was significantly higher in the pre-HAART group, with a predominance of intraocular infections and inflammations. Comparison of patients receiving HAART or not revealed that ocular involvement tended to be reduced in the treated group and that treatment was effective in preventing infectious diseases; however, the prevalence of external ocular diseases was similar in the patients receiving HAART or not. As a consequence of HAART, we observed a reduction in the frequency of ocular problems, especially intraocular infections and inflammations. However, this benefic influence was less important in the ocular surface or in external ocular disease.
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