Visual Impairment Among Subjects With Medically Refractive Corneal Diseases
Abstract
Background - Corneal diseases constitute a major cause of visual loss and blindness in the world today, majority of which is avoidable. Aim – The purpose of this study was to estimate the cause and severity of visual impairment among subjects with medically refractive corneal diseases. Design – Retrospective chart review. Material and methods – The details of cases (n=38) with medically refractive corneal diseases awaiting surgical management in the cornea clinic of a tertiary care hospital during a period of one year were recorded. Results - 65.78% were >40 years of age. 26.31% had bilateral disease. Central cornea was involved among 70.83%. Most common cause of corneal blindness was corneal opacity (27.08%). Trauma constituted 30.76% corneal opacities. 77.08% cases had visual impairment. 52.08% were blind. Those with BCVA >6/18 suffered from intractable glare and photophobia. Conclusion – Identification of avoidable and treatable causes of corneal blindness can help to plan strategies in the prevention, cure and rehabilitation of subjects with corneal diseases.References
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2. Gupta N, Tandon R, Gupta SK, Sreenivas V, Vashist P, Burden of corneal blindness in India; Indian J Community Med. 2013 Oct;38(4):198-206. doi: 10.4103/0970-0218.120153.
3. Bella AL, Dohvoma VA, Eballe AO, Abdouramani O, Pattern of corneal pathologies in children seen at Yaoundé Gynaeco-Obstetric and Paediatric Hospital, Cameroon; Clin Ophthalmol. 2013;7:2007-10. doi: 10.2147/OPTH.S50200.
4. Dandona L, Dandona R, Srinivas M, Giridhar P, Vilas K, Prasad MN, John RK, McCarty CA, Rao GN, Blindness in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh; Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci; 2001 Apr;42(5):908-16.
5. Oliva MS, Schottman T, Gulati M, Turning the tide of corneal blindness; Indian J Ophthalmol.; 2012 Sep-Oct;60(5):423-7. doi: 10.4103/0301-4738.100540.
6. Li Z, Cui H, Zhang L, Liu P, Bai J, Prevalence of and associated factors for corneal blindness in a rural adult population (the southern Harbin eye study); Curr Eye Res. 2009 Aug;34(8):646-51.
7. Cao J, Yang Y, Yang W, Wu R, Xiao X, Yuan J, Xing Y, Tan X, Prevalence of infectious keratitis in Central China; BMC Ophthalmol. 2014 Apr 2;14:43. doi: 10.1186/1471-2415-14-43.
8. J. Whitcher , M Srinivasan; Corneal ulceration in the developing world—a silent epidemic; Br J Ophthalmol. Aug 1997; 81(8): 622–623. PMCID: PMC1722289
9. Zhang Y, Wu X; Knowledge and attitudes about corneal ulceration among residents in a county of Shandong Province, China; Ophthalmic Epidemiol. 2013 Aug;20(4):248-54. doi: 10.3109/09286586.2013.809126.
10. Zhang SY, Zou LH, Gao YQ, Di Y, Wang XD; National epidemiological survey of blindness and low vision in China; Chin Med J (Engl). 1992 Jul;105(7):603-8.
11. Balarabe AH, Mahmoud AO, Ayanniyi AA ; The Sokoto blind beggars: causes of blindness and barriers to rehabilitation services; Middle East Afr J Ophthalmol. 2014 Apr-Jun;21(2):147-52. doi: 10.4103/0974-9233.129764.
12. J. P. Whitcher, M. Srinivasan, and M. P. Upadhyay; Corneal blindness: a global perspective; Bull World Health Organ. 2001; 79(3): 214–221.PMCID: PMC2566379
13. Garg P, Krishna PV, Stratis AK, Gopinathan U; The value of corneal transplantation in reducing blindness; Eye (Lond); 2005 Oct;19(10):1106-14.
14. Wang H, Zhang Y, Li Z, Wang T, Liu P; Prevalence and causes of corneal blindness; Clin Experiment Ophthalmol. 2014 Apr;42(3):249-53. doi: 10.1111/ceo.12164.
15. Dandona R, Dandona L; Corneal blindness in a southern Indian population: need for health promotion strategies; Br J Ophthalmol. 2003 Feb;87(2):133-41
