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Purpose: The present study was a population?based study to determine the prevalence and causes of low vision in children less than 16 years in North India. Methods: This cross?sectional study was conducted in 40 clusters of urban Delhi. Children aged less than 16 years underwent visual acuity screening using age?appropriate visual acuity charts. All children with visual acuity of <6/12 in any eye in the age group between 3 and 15 years and inability to follow the light in age less than 3 years were referred for detailed ophthalmic examination in a centrally based clinic. Cycloplegic examination and best?corrected visual acuity (BCVA) were assessed. They were examined by an ophthalmologist to determine the prevalence and causes of functional low vision (FLV). The prevalence of FLV was compared with other population?based studies across India and other parts of the world. Results: Amongst 20,955 children examined for visual acuity, 789 children were referred to the central clinic for detailed ophthalmic examination. The overall prevalence of low vision was 0.62 per 1,000 children (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.12–1.90). The main anatomical cause of low vision was retinal abnormalities. Conclusion: Although the prevalence of children with low vision decreased as compared to previous population?based studies. There is an important need to create awareness among parents on appropriate and timely usage of low?vision devices (LVDs) at an affordable cost to improve the visual quality in children with low vision.
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Purpose: In the mid?twentieth century, trachoma was endemic in the northwestern states of India. We aimed to generate recent estimates of prevalence of trachomatous inflammation, follicular (TF) and trachomatous trichiasis (TT) in ten suspected?endemic districts across seven previously hyper?endemic states and union territories for trachoma in India including Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat, Uttarakhand and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Methods: Population?based prevalence surveys were undertaken in 10 districts. In each of those districts, two?stage cluster sampling was used to select a sample of 2000 children aged 1–9 years and all adults aged ?15 years in the enumerated households from a total of 20 clusters per district. Consenting eligible participants were examined for trachoma by trained ophthalmologists using the World Health Organization’s simplified grading system. Data were analyzed at the district level. Results: A total of 13,802 households were surveyed in which 19,662 children were examined for TF and 44,135 adults aged ?15 years were examined for TT. District?level TF prevalence in 1–9?year?olds ranged from 0.1% in Bikaner (95% CI: 0.01–0.3) to 2.1% in Dholpur (95% CI: 1.6–2.8) and that of trichiasis ranged from 0.7 per 1000 in Pauri Garhwal (95% CI: 0.01–1.4) to 22.1 per 1000 (95% CI: 15.8–28.4) in Car Nicobar. In four districts (Car Nicobar, Dholpur, Hoshiarpur, Tonk), trichiasis prevalence in adults aged ?15 years was ?0.2%. Conclusion: TF was not a public health problem in any of the districts surveyed; thus, antibiotic mass drug administration is not needed. However, TT among adults was found to be above 0.2% in four districts; thus, further trichiasis surgery interventions at the public health level are warranted to achieve elimination. These findings will facilitate planning for elimination of trachoma as a public health problem in India.
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Purpose: The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of myopia at the community level. Methods: A population?based, cross?sectional study was planned in 40 clusters among children identified with subnormal vision in the urban community of Delhi. House?to?house visits were conducted for visual acuity screening of 20,000 children aged 0–15 years using age appropriate visual acuity charts. All the children with visual acuity of < 6/12 in any eye in the age group between 3 and 15 years and inability to follow light in age group 0–3 years were referred for detailed ophthalmic examination. Results: A total of 13,572 (64.7%) children belonged to the age group of 6–15 years. Of these, a total of 507 (3.7%) were found to be having myopia (spherical equivalent of ?0.50 DS or worse in one or both eyes) with positive association with higher age groups. Conclusion: The estimated prevalence of myopia is 3.7%; the proportion of uncorrected myopia was 45%, which reflects that refractive error services need to be improved further.
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Background: Conjunctivitis of the newborn is defined as hyperemia and eye discharge in the neonates and is a common infection occurring in the neonates in the first month of life. In the United States, the incidence of neonatal conjunctivitis ranges from 1-2%, in India, the prevalence is 0.5-33% and varies in the world from 0.9-21% depending on the socioeconomic status. Aim: To study the organisms causing conjunctivitis of the newborn and to correlate the etiology with the mode of delivery. Design: Single center, prospective, observational study. Materials and Methods: A total of 300 mothers and their newborns, born over a period of one year, were included in the study. Of these 200 newborns were delivered through vaginal route (Group A) and 100 (Group B) delivered by lower segment caesarean section (LSCS). At the time of labour, high vaginal swabs were taken from the mothers. Two conjunctival swabs each from both eyes of the newborn were collected at birth and transported to Microbiology department in a candle jar immediately. Results: Eight babies in Group A, developed conjunctivitis at birth. None of the babies in Group B developed conjunctivitis, this difference was statistically highly significant (P<0.000). The organisms found in the conjunctiva of the newborns in Group A were Coagulase negative Staphylococcus, α hemolytic Streptococcus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas spps. However, the commonest organism leading to conjunctivitis in the newborn in this study was Coagulase negative Staphylococcus. It was observed that the mothers of 5 out of 8 babies (60%) developing conjunctivitis gave history of midwife interference and premature rupture of membranes so the presence of risk factors contribute to the occurrence of conjunctivitis in the newborn. Conclusions: It is inferred that the mode of delivery and the presence of risk factors is responsible for conjunctivitis in the newborn.