This study has further confirmed that the AL remains a strong determinant of refraction, but a derived factor AL/CR accounts for more variation in final refractive status than AL in isolation.
The body height is independently associated with ocular AL and ACD while the body weight and BMI are not independently associated with any of the ocular biometric indices studied.
Introduction: Devic's neuromyelitis optica is an inflammatory demyelinating disease that targets the optic nerves and spinal cord. It has a worldwide distribution and distinctive features that distinguish it from multiple sclerosis. There has been no previous report of neuromyelitis optica from our practice environment, and we are not aware of any case associated with antiphospholipid syndrome in an African person.
ObjectivesRetinopathy of prematurity (ROP) will become a major cause of blindness in Nigerian children unless screening and treatment services expand. This article aims to describe the collaborative activities undertaken to improve services for ROP between 2017 and 2020 as well as the outcome of these activities in Nigeria.DesignDescriptive case study.SettingNeonatal intensive care units in Nigeria.ParticipantsStaff providing services for ROP, and 723 preterm infants screened for ROP who fulfilled screening criteria (gestational age <34 weeks or birth weight ≤2000 g, or sickness criteria).Methods and analysisA WhatsApp group was initiated for Nigerian ophthalmologists and neonatologists in 2018. Members participated in a range of capacity-building, national and international collaborative activities between 2017 and 2018. A national protocol for ROP was developed for Nigeria and adopted in 2018; 1 year screening outcome data were collected and analysed. In 2019, an esurvey was used to collect service data from WhatsApp group members for 2017–2018 and to assess challenges in service provision.ResultsIn 2017 only six of the 84 public neonatal units in Nigeria provided ROP services; this number had increased to 20 by 2018. Of the 723 babies screened in 10 units over a year, 127 (17.6%) developed any ROP; and 29 (22.8%) developed type 1 ROP. Only 13 (44.8%) babies were treated, most by intravitreal bevacizumab. The screening criteria were revised in 2020. Challenges included lack of equipment to regulate oxygen and to document and treat ROP, and lack of data systems.ConclusionROP screening coverage and quality improved after national and international collaborative efforts. To scale up and improve services, equipment for neonatal care and ROP treatment is urgently needed, as well as systems to monitor data. Ongoing advocacy is also essential.
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