Profile of patients presenting at a low vision clinic in a developing country

Abstract

BackgroundLow vision is an important public health problem; however, very few low vision clinics are available to address the needs of low vision patients in most developing countries. The purpose of this study was to describe the characteristics of patients attending the low vision clinic of a Nigerian tertiary hospital.MethodsThis was a prospective cross sectional study of all new patients seen at the low vision clinic over a 36 month period. Patients were administered with a structured questionnaire, and were examined and tested with low vision devices by the attending low vision specialist. Information on the demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients was recorded.ResultsA total of 193 new patients seen during the period were studied. The mean age was 41.4 years, and their ages ranged between 6 and 90 years with a male to female ratio of 1.9:1. Majority (58%) were aged below 50 years, 23.3% were children (≤15 years), while 21.8% were elderly patients (≥65 years). The commonest cause of low vision was retinitis pigmentosa (16.6%); 14.5% had age related macular degeneration (ARMD); 9.8% had albinism; while only 1% had diabetic retinopathy. ARMD (45.2%) was the commonest cause in the elderly patients, while albinism (24.4%) and optic atrophy (24.4%) were the commonest in children.ConclusionThe demographic and clinical characteristics of low vision patients seen in this clinic are similar to that of patients in other developing countries, but different from those in developed countries. Elderly patients and females may be under-utilising low vision services. There is a need for further research into the determinants of low vision service utilisation in developing countries. This would further aid the planning and delivery of services to low vision patients in these countries.

Baseline traits of patients presenting at a low vision clinic in Shanghai, China

“…Retinitis pigmentos was found to be a the leading cause among the adults aged 20–59 years. Both in our study and the studies in Malaysia [22] and Nigeria [24]. AMD was identified as the most common cause of visual impairment among those over 60 in our study and in other studies [20,22-24,26-30].…”

“…Both in our study and the studies in Malaysia [22] and Nigeria [24]. AMD was identified as the most common cause of visual impairment among those over 60 in our study and in other studies [20,22-24,26-30]. Different from other studies, degenerative myopia was the the second leading cause of visual impairment in our study and also the first cause of visual impairment in patients aged 20 and above.…”

Clinical presentation and visual status of retinitis pigmentosa patients: a multicenter study in southwestern Nigeria

“…The usefulness of appropriate low vision devices for visually impaired RP patients cannot be overemphasized 9,22. RP was responsible for 16.6% of low vision patients in a new low vision aid center in southwestern Nigeria 23. More of such centers in this region will be beneficial.…”

Etiological Evaluation of Patients Who Have Low Vision Aid in Our Region

“…39,40 Az görme merkezine başvuran çocukların ele alındığı yurt dışı çalışmalara baktığımızda ise Brezilya'da en sık görülen tanıların sırasıyla konjenital katarakt, Toksoplazma ve glokom; Yeni Zelanda'da serebral nedenler, optik atrofi ve retinal distrofi; Pakistan'da nistagmus, Stargardt, makülopati, dejeneratif miyopik makülopati, okülokutanöz albinizm ve Nijerya'da da optik atrofi ve albinizmin ilk sıralarda olduğu bildirilmiştir. [41][42][43][44] Az gören hastalarda tanı dağılımını inceleyen çalışmalarda, sonuçların birbirinden farklılıklar gösterdiği görülmektedir. Çünkü, çalışmaya dâhil edilen hastaların yaş dağılımında farklılıklar vardır ve çalışmaların bir kısmı genel populasyondaki az gören hastaları, bir kısmı ise sadece az görme merkezine başvuranları değerlendirmektedir.…”