Childhood Eye Diseases in Southwestern Nigeria: A Tertiary Hospital Study

Abstract

BACKGROUNDEye diseases are important cause of medical consultation in children, with the spectrum varying in different localities. This study aimed to determine the spectrum of childhood eye diseases in a tertiary hospital serving rural and semi-rural communities.METHODSWe conducted a retrospective review of all patients less than 15 years old who presented to the eye clinic of Wesley Guild Hospital Ilesa, Nigeria between January 2001 and December 2006. Data on age at presentation, age at onset of disease, sex and diagnosis were collected and analyzed using SPSS. A p value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.RESULTSWe evaluated the reports of 286 children, with a male:female ratio of 1:1.1. Children aged 11–15 years made up the largest group (p=0.013). Ocular trauma (21.7%), allergic conjunctivitis (17.8%), infections of the eye and its adnexa (15.4%) and refractive errors (14.3%) were the most common conditions. Ocular injury was more common in males (p=0.002) and children aged 6–10 years, and 87.1% of these cases were a closed globe injury. Infections were seen more commonly among females and children aged 0–5 years, with keratitis representing 40.9% of these cases. Congenital eye disease represented 13.3% of childhood eye diseases.CONCLUSIONThe prevalent childhood eye diseases recorded here can lead to absenteeism from school and are potentially blinding. Health education aimed at the prevention of ocular trauma and prompt presentation for the management of other eye diseases should be encouraged.

Microbiological and epidemiological study of infectious keratitis in children and adolescents

“…Comorbidities were present in 5.8% of the study patients; this was lower than rates reported in previous studies (3,(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14) . Cancer was the main comorbidity, present in 2% of our records.…”

“…Trauma has been reported as the major risk factor for keratitis in several published studies, accounting for 21.2% to 58.8% of cases (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)29) . In our study, 18.2% of patients had a history of using contact lenses.…”

“…(4)(5)(6)(7) . Infectious keratitis are more prevalent in tropical developing countries with poor healthcare systems than in developed countries (3,(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21) . The diagnosis of keratitis is usually clinical and the treatment is empirical, with the application of broad-spectrum topical antimicrobial agents until identification of the etiologic agent is completed.…”

Pattern of ocular morbidity in Nigeria

“…Cataract was the third commonest cause of ocular morbidity accounting for 15.9% of all cases which is similar to that of 16.7% reported from the same environment [1] . Cataract is a major cause of blindness world wide and is one of the diseases included in VISION 2020 [5,11] .…”

“…A population based study of primary school children in Rwanda (Central Africa) reported a prevalence of vernal keratoconjunctivitis of 4% [14] . Allergic conjunctivitis and ocular trauma were the most common causes of eye diseases in children in south western Nigeria [15] . Blepharoconjunctivitis followed by refractive error was the commonest cause of ocular morbidity amongst school children in a school eye survey in a rural population in India [16] .…”