ABSTRACT
Background and Objective: The Philippines does not have a national congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) surveillance or registry. Regular monitoring of CRS cases in hospitals, including in a Philippine tertiary hospital, helped in the past to provide clinico-epidemiologic data on CRS. This study aimed to continue providing clinico-epidemiologic data on CRS cases seen in the Philippine tertiary hospital from 2009-2012 and 2019-2022 and compare the cases seen from said timelines. Methods: A cross-sectional study was used, employing chart review of patients newly diagnosed with CRS from 2009-2012 and 2019-2022 in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the Philippine tertiary hospital. Results: Forty-two patients newly diagnosed with CRS from 2009-2012 and 2019-2022 were included. Only 14 (33%) were serologically-confirmed cases (albeit qualitatively). Median age (first and third interquartile ranges) at consult was 1 year (0.4, 2.5). Twenty-four (57%) patients had maternal history of rashes and/or fever. Trimester of pregnancy when mother became symptomatic was not significantly correlated with chief complaint (p=0.20) and numbers of ophthalmic (p=0.68) and systemic manifestations (p=0.32). Cataract was the most common ophthalmic manifestation present in 40 (95%) patients. Twenty-six (62%) patients had other associated systemic findings of which hearing loss was the most common. Only 29 of 40 patients with cataract underwent lensectomy, with 23 patients having poor visual prognosis prior to surgery (5 with nystagmus alone, 10 with nystagmus and strabismus, and 8 with strabismus alone). Discussion: Using ophthalmic manifestations as primary indicator, this study provided an update on the CRS cases in the country. Laboratory confirmation remains a challenge in diagnosing CRS as the tests are costly and not widely available. There was increase from 2009-2012 compared to 2019-2022 in number of patients who underwent surgical treatment for cataract but visual outcomes were suboptimal due to delay in consultation. Although there was a decrease in number of CRS cases seen in the Philippine tertiary hospital, this cannot be attributed to increased rubella-containing vaccine (RCV) coverage alone. Conclusion: Provision of data from individual hospital-based studies similar to this highlights the need for a national CRS surveillance system or registry. This can better gauge the burden of CRS and identify the gap in RCV coverage.
ABSTRACT
AIM: To provide a comprehensive and more representative national data on the disease, especially on treatment options and outcomes, and to determine access of retinoblastoma patients from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao to eye care, and determine if access is associated with delay in consultation, staging and outcomes. METHODS: Cohort study of retinoblastoma patients seen in eleven institutions located in the three major areas of the Philippines namely Luzon, Vizayas and Mindanao from 2010-2020. RESULTS: Totally 636 patients, involving 821 eyes, were included. Majority (57%) were from Luzon and were seen in institutions in Luzon (72%). Annually, 58±10 new cases were seen with 71% having unilateral disease. Median delay of consultation remained long at 9 (3, 17)mo, longest in patients with unilateral disease (P<0.02) and those from the Visayas (P<0.003). Based on the International Retinoblastoma Staging System, only 35% of patients had Stage 1 while 47% already had extraocular disease. Enucleation was the most common treatment received by 484 patients while intravenous chemotherapy was received by 469. There were 250 (39%) patients alive, 195 (31%) dead, 85 (13%) abandoned, 17 (3%) refused and 89 (14%) with no data. CONCLUSION: This study presents the largest cohort of retinoblastoma patients in the Philippines in terms of patients' and participating institutions' number and geographical location and type of institution (private and public). It also presents more comprehensive data on the treatments used and outcomes (survival, globe salvage, and vision retention rates). Delay in consultation was still long among patients leading to advanced disease stage and lower survival rate. Despite increasing capacity to diagnose and manage retinoblastoma in the country, the delay of consultation remains long primarily due to accessibility issues to eye care institutions especially in the Visayas and financial concerns. The delay was still significant that overall survival rate remain low.
