ABSTRACT
We report here a clinical study investigating the main visual problems associated with albinism, with a view to determining the best treatment. We came across 42 cases of albinism during the course of this study, corresponding to a prevalence for albinism of 0.15%. One in ten albinos were of the yellow mutant type and more of the albinos were men than were women (sex ratio 1.21). The maximum visual acuity recorded was 3/10 and 40.47% of the patient had a best visual acuity score no higher than 1/10. Vision was best in the yellow mutants and it improved with age. We found that 33.33% of the albino patients had a squint and 35.71% had torticullis at primary fixation. In contrast to the results of previous studies, the most common ametropia was myopic astigmatism (61.9%). These findings have potential implications for the treatment of visual problems in albinos.
Subject(s)
Albinism, Ocular/epidemiology , Adolescent , Adult , Age Factors , Albinism, Ocular/diagnosis , Astigmatism/diagnosis , Astigmatism/epidemiology , Cameroon/epidemiology , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Hospitals, General , Humans , Infant , Light , Male , Myopia/diagnosis , Myopia/epidemiology , Nystagmus, Pathologic/diagnosis , Nystagmus, Pathologic/epidemiology , Refractive Errors/diagnosis , Refractive Errors/epidemiology , Sex Factors , Visual AcuityABSTRACT
We carried out this study to increase our knowledge and understanding of exotropia (divergent strabismus) in general, but particularly in black people, in whom it occurs more frequently. We carried out a prospective study in the department of ophthalmology of Douala General Hospital from November 1991 to June 1998. All patients underwent oculomotor examination and skiascopye. In a series of 225 consecutive strabismus cases, we identified 147 cases of exotropia (59.51%) in 67 male patients (45.58%) and 80 female patients (54.42%). In 59.86% of these cases, exotropia was evident before the age of one year and 59.19% had amblyopia. The mean age at first examination was 17.04 years (+/- 12.12 years). Hyperopia was the most common form of ametropia (59.86%) and 39 patients (26.53%) had parents, children or siblings who also had exotropia. We found that exotropia was the most common form of strabismus in black people in Cameroon and that it spontaneously progressed to amblyopia in a significant number of cases. We therefore recommend early, active treatment.
