ABSTRACT
Central corneal thickness (CCT) is an essential tool in the assessment and management of corneal disease. CCT has thus become very important for the interpretation of intraocular pressure and prerefractive procedure assessment; however little is known about its distribution within a population with wide range of refractive errors. Therefore the objective is to study the correlation of CCT with a broad range of refractive errors in rural population of Haryana. Methods: Prospective analysis of patients with refractive error presenting to the Ophthalmology outpatient services were included as cases. Age and sex matched emmetropic subjects were included as controls. Both cases and controls were undertaken for CCT measurements by ultrasonic pachymetry. Results: A total of 187 eyes as cases, 101 as controls. Among cases, 122 eyes myopic (Group- 1) (Mean CCT= 531.80±37.83 μ) and 65 hypermetropic (Group- 2) (Mean CCT=549.66±45.66 μ). The results shows that the central corneal thickness was decreased in the myopic eyes in comparison to the normal eyes which was statistically significantly (p=0.001). However in the hypermetropic group, no correlation was found between central corneal thickness and degree of hypermetropia. Conclusion: This study provides pilot data of CCT in different types of refractive errors in our set of rural population which helps us in understanding the variation of CCT with refractive errors.
ABSTRACT
Background: The Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (India) is directed towards achieving universal health coverage among children by early detection of diseases. Under the scheme, children are screened at the level of schools and community and are thereafter referred to tertiary centre. The purpose of study was to identify common causes of ocular morbidity in children screened and referred through this national screening program. Methods: Retrospective analysis of records of all children who presented to our centre with ocular problems over a period of one year (2015) was undertaken. Clinical diagnosis was recorded on a seven point scale based on major anatomical involvement. An analysis of causes of visual impairment was undertaken with a special emphasis on avoidable and treatable causes. Results: A total of 851 subjects presented with ocular problems (mean age 9.5±4.9 years); of them 819 were classified into seven major clinical groups and subgroups. Most common clinical group was that of strabismus (59.9%), followed by refractive errors (16.9%), lids related disorders (6.2%), orbit and adnexal developmental defects (4.6%), lenticular (3.3%), corneal and conjunctival (3.2%) and retinal disorders (2.1%). A total of 49.7% cases had avoidable or treatable causes of visual impairment. Conclusion: A national program with capacity to screen and ensure appropriate referral facilities resulted in intervention in many cases with avoidable and treatable causes of visual impairment. A varied pattern of ocular morbidity was found among the referred cases; our study could provide a platform for a target oriented approach towards planning and implementation of such screening programs.