UNLABELLED: This prospective study was conducted in the ophthalmology department of the Gynaeco-Obstetric and Paediatric Hospital in Yaoundé and included 422 children recruited from January to April 2008. The aim was to identify the eye diseases seen frequently seen in school-aged children from 6 to 15 years and examine their epidemiological characteristics. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The study group included 201 boys and 221 girls, with a mean age of 10,3 +/- 3.2 years. The most frequent disease was ametropia (refractive errors, 43.1%), including hyperopia, which had a prevalence of 23.7% Conjunctival disorders came next, accounting for 33%, more than half due to tropical endemic limbo conjunctivitis (17.8%). Binocular blindness affected 0.9% (n = 4), and low vision 0.7% (n = 3). CONCLUSION: This study, the first in its kind for the age group of 6-15 years in a developing country, allowed us to identify refractive errors as the principal complaint in consultations and led us to propose a reinforcement of screening in schools.
UNLABELLED: This prospective study was conducted in the ophthalmology department of the Gynaeco-Obstetric and Paediatric Hospital in Yaoundé and included 422 children recruited from January to April 2008. The aim was to identify the eye diseases seen frequently seen in school-aged children from 6 to 15 years and examine their epidemiological characteristics. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The study group included 201 boys and 221 girls, with a mean age of 10,3 +/- 3.2 years. The most frequent disease was ametropia (refractive errors, 43.1%), including hyperopia, which had a prevalence of 23.7% Conjunctival disorders came next, accounting for 33%, more than half due to tropical endemic limbo conjunctivitis (17.8%). Binocular blindness affected 0.9% (n = 4), and low vision 0.7% (n = 3). CONCLUSION: This study, the first in its kind for the age group of 6-15 years in a developing country, allowed us to identify refractive errors as the principal complaint in consultations and led us to propose a reinforcement of screening in schools.
Authors: Stuart Keel; Jennifer R Evans; Sandra Block; Rupert Bourne; Margarita Calonge; Ching-Yu Cheng; David S Friedman; João M Furtado; Rohit C Khanna; Wanjiku Mathenge; Silvio Mariotti; Elenoa Matoto; Andreas Müller; M Mansur Rabiu; Tuwani Rasengane; Jialang Zhao; Richard Wormald; Alarcos Cieza Journal: BMJ Open Ophthalmol Date: 2020-08-11