Blindness, which is a major burden on the individual and the society, was observed to be pervasively present in a region inhabited by an undermined, disadvantaged ethnic people, the Chepang (Köberlein et al., 2013). Such a plight heralds escalating, already- fragile eye health care in the remote region of Nepal (Ghimire, 2015).
Introduction: Computers and digital electronic devices have become an integral part of life. These devices have adverse effects and nowadays are considered leading occupational hazards. Computer vision syndrome comprises of all the ocular, visual and musculoskeletal symptoms secondary to long term computer use. The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of computer vision syndrome among people attending the outpatient department of ophthalmology in the tertiary care center in Nepal. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was done among 70 patients in a tertiary care hospital from January 2017 to June 2017 after obtaining ethical approval from the institutional review committee (Ref: 12042017). Convenient sampling method was applied and the point estimate at 95% confidence interval was calculated along with frequency and proportion for binary data. Patients using computers for more than one hour were included in the study. All data were entered in Microsoft Excel and analyzed using statistical package for social sciences version 20. Results: Among 70 patients, 67 (95.7%) (87.9-99.1 at 95% confidence interval) had one or more symptoms on computer use. The mean duration of computer use was 7.5±5.4 years and average hours of computer use among computer users were 6.9±3 hours. The most common symptom among computer users was headache seen in 46 (62.2%) patients. Conclusions: Our study showed that a significant number of people using a computer develop one or more symptoms on the long-term use of the computer. Therefore, it is very important to create awareness regarding computer vision syndrome and methods to prevent it among computer users.
Background: Retinopathy of prematurity, a vision threatening disease of the preterm occurs due to abnormal retinal vasculature development. Early detection and timely management, prevents blindness. Paediatricians, the primary care providers, require good knowledge of risk factors, time for screening, and referral to an ophthalmologist for their management. Objectives: To study knowledge and referral practices for retinopathy of prematurity followed by registered paediatricians in Nepal. Methods: This study was a questionnaire-based descriptive cross-sectional study among 81 paediatricians of Nepal from October 2021 to December 2021. A self-administered questionnaire was sent to all registered paediatricians in Nepal via Google Forms. The paediatricians who did not respond were excluded from the study. Descriptive statistics, frequency tables, and percentages were calculated using SPSS. Ethical clearance was obtained from Institutional Review Committee of Kathmandu Medical College. Results: Eighty-one paediatricians participated in the study. All of them were aware of retinopathy of prematurity. Eighty (98.8%) were aware that low gestational age was an important risk factor. Only 23 (28.4%) of the paediatricians stated that the first screening should be done within 30 days of life. Eighty (98.8%) paediatricians responded that retinopathy of prematurity is treatable. Lack of well-equipped transportation system for sick babies to eye centres was the major barrier reported. Conclusion: Awareness regarding risk factors, screening, and referral protocols for retinopathy of prematurity among paediatricians is needed. Multidisciplinary team, formulation and implementation of guidelines to prevent blindness secondary to retinopathy of prematurity is important.
Background: Inherited macular dystrophies constitute a group of diseases characterized by bilateral central visual loss with symmetrical macular abnormalities usually presenting in the first two decades of life. The aim of this study were to find out the demographic characteristics and disease pattern of inherited retinal dystrophies in subjects attending retina outpatient department in a tertiary care center. Methods: An observational study among twenty-six participants diagnosed as macular dystrophy visiting a tertiary care centre in Nepal, during January 2018 to June 2018 were included in the study. Detailed history, slit lamp examination, dilated fundus examination, coloured fundus photography, full field electroretinogram, multifocal electroretinogram, automated visual field and colour vision were done. Results: A total of 52 eyes of 26 subjects were diagnosed with macular dystrophy. The male to female ratio was 1:1. The mean age of presentation was 28.38 years. Most common symptom was blurring of vision seen in 96.15%.The mean visual acuity was 0.67 log mar units in right eye and 0.71 log mar units in the left eye. The most common macular dystrophy was cone dystrophy followed by adult vitelliform macular dystrophy and Stargardts dystrophy. Conclusions: Cone dystrophy is the most common followed by Stargardt’s disease and adult vitelliform macular dystrophy. Most presented in the first two decades of life and the most common presenting symptom was blurring of vision. Keywords: Adult vitelliform macular dystrophy; best disease; cone dystrophy; macular dystrophy; occult macular dystrophy; stargardt’s disease
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