ABSTRACT
Purpose: India has the largest population of youth in the world, thereby making them important contributors to the “India of Tomorrow”. Over 80% of knowledge gained is by the visual sense, thereby making school screening programs a necessity in our country. Data from the pre?COVID era, that is, 2017–18 was collected from close to 19,000 children in Gurugram, Haryana, a tier two city in National Capital Region, India. A similar prospective observational study is planned post COVID?19 (2022–23) for further analysis to depict the impact of COVID?19 in these areas. Methods: The program They See, They Learn was set at government schools in the area of operations (district of Gurgaon, Haryana), where the children and their families were unable to afford eye care services. All children who were screened underwent a comprehensive eye examination at the school premises itself. Results: A total of 18,939 students were screened over a period of 18 months, covering a total of 39 schools in the Gurugram belt, in the first phase of the program. Eleven point eight percent (n = 2254) of all school students had some form of refractive error. Girl students were found to have a higher refractive error rate (13.3%) compared to boy students (10.1%) across the schools screened. Myopia was the most common type of refractive error. Conclusion: School students require perfect vision or else they can be discouraged and may become a major burden to the economy of any developing nation. A school screening program aiming at populations that cannot afford such basic needs like spectacles is a must in all zones of the country
ABSTRACT
Purpose: To provide a detailed analysis of age‑related macular degeneration (AMD) with a 5‑year follow‑up at a Tertiary Eye Care Center in India. Methods: In this retrospective institutional study, 408 eyes of 204 subjects (100 males) with a diagnosis of AMD with minimum 5‑year follow‑up were included. Data collected included demographics, details of the ocular exam, special investigations performed, treatment offered, complications, and systemic diseases, if any. Results: The median age was 74.24 ± 8.23 years. Median follow‑up was 5.77 years. The visual acuity (VA) at baseline and last visit was 0.74 ± 0.12 (Snellen’s equivalent 20/100) and 0.54 ± 0.12 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (Snellen’s equivalent 20/50; P = 0.032) in patients with choroidal neovascular membrane (CNVM). The most common complaint was decreased vision (94.5%). AMD (any stage) was found to be bilateral in 93% of patients at baseline and 197 patients (96.56%) at 5 years. Seventeen eyes had active CNVM (12 of these were occult) at presentation. At baseline, 43 eyes had a disciform scar. Three hundred twenty‑one eyes had dry AMD at baseline (geographic atrophy ‑ 12 [3.7%] eyes). Five‑year conversion rate into wet AMD and geographic atrophy was 2.87% and 3.12%. Median number of anti‑vascular endothelial growth factor injections administered per patient was 2.8 ± 1.2. CNVM bilaterality was low (7.5%). Conclusion: Patients with AMD in India presented later in the course of the disease. Bilateral advanced AMD and geographic atrophy were uncommon. Five‑year conversion rate into wet AMD and geographic atrophy was 2.87% and 3.12%.