Awareness of glaucoma among adult patients attending hawassa university comprehensive specialized hospital ophthalmic outpatient department, Sidama, Ethiopia, August 2022.

BACKGROUND: Due to the asymptomatic nature of the disease and lack of awareness, most glaucoma patients present for eye examination late, after significant damage of optic nerve occur. Being aware of glaucoma is important for timely diagnosis of the disease and preventing blindness from it. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess glaucoma awareness and associated factors among adult patients aged 35 and over attending the eye outpatient department. METHODS: Hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted on 284 adult patients aged 35 and over attending ophthalmic outpatient department from July to August 2022 using systematic random sampling. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. The data were checked for completeness, and then entered to SPSS version 22 software. Descriptive and binary logistic regression analyses were performed. Independent variables with p-value ≤ 0.05 in multivariate logistic regression were considered as statistically significant. RESULTS: About 284 study participants, of whom 57.75% were male, participated in this study with a response rate of 94.1%. The mean age of the study participants was 53.58 years. Only 39.09%(95% CI: 36.53-41.65) were aware of glaucoma. Age groups 46-50 [AOR; 1.83: 1.18, 2.56] and 51-64 [AOR; 3.21: 2.03, 4.39], having college education or above [AOR; 3.1: 2.20, 6.64], family member with glaucoma [AOR; 5.86:3.25, 8.0], income 6500 ETB [AOR; 2.9: 1.97, 5.00] and previous eye examination [AOR; 2.15: 1.46, 4.05] were factors significantly associated with awareness of glaucoma. The main sources of information were news media, family members with glaucoma and health workers. CONCLUSION: More than half (60.91%) of adult ophthalmic patients attending HUCSH were unaware of glaucoma and need eye health education concerning glaucoma.

Pooled prevalence of blindness in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Blindness is defined as presenting visual acuity worse than 3/60 in the better eye. Its highest proportion has been conforming to the developing countries such as Ethiopia. So, timely information is crucial to design strategies. However, the study on the magnitude of blindness in Ethiopia was outdated which means it was conducted in 2005-2006. Therefore, this study was proposed to estimate the pooled prevalence of blindness in Ethiopia.Databases like PubMed, Cochrane library, Google Scholar and references of retrieved articles were used to search for articles. A standard data extraction approach was employed and presented using Preferred Reporting of Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale quality assessment tool was used to evaluate the quality of studies. Analysis held using STATA V.11. The funnel plot and Egger's regression test were applied to check for the potential sources of bias. Heterogeneity among the studies was tested using I² statistics that have been calculated and compared with the standard. Meta-regression and subgroup analysis were done to identify the potential sources of heterogeneity. Estimation of blindness was carried out using Duval and Twee die's trim and fill analysis. The pooled prevalence of blindness in Ethiopia is found to be 1.18% (95% CI 0.650% to 1.706%). Blindness is among the main public health difficulties in Ethiopia. So, it demands up-to-date strategies and its implementation, preventive and curative eye care service with affordable and accessible interventions, and evidence-based advocacy. The trial Registration Number is CRD42021268448.

Prevalence and associated factors of pterygium among adults living in Gondar city, Northwest Ethiopia.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated factors of pterygium among adults living in Gondar city, Northwest Ethiopia. METHODS: A cross sectional design study was carried out in 390 participants in Gondar city from April 15 to May 7, 2016. Basic ophthalmic examination was performed using portable slit lamb, 3.5x magnifying loop with torch light and a pretested and structured questionnaire was completed. The raw data has been entered into EPI INFO 3.5.1 and analyzed by SPPSS version 20. Descriptive statistics was summarized descriptive data. Logistic regression was used to summarize the predictors of pterygium. The variables with p-value less than 0.05 were considered as significant risks of pterygium. RESULT: The prevalence of pterygium among study participants was 151(38.7% (95%CI; 33.8-43.8)). Among those who have pterygium, 149(98.7%) were developed pterygium on the nasal side and 15(9.9%) on temporal side of the either eye and 13(8.6%) have both. Age between 41-60(AOR = 2.20(95%CI: 1.22, 3.39)), age between 61-86(AOR = 7.97(95%CI: 2.74, 23.17)), male sex (AOR = 2.20(95%CI: 1.28, 3.82)), outdoor working area(AOR = 3.75(95%CI: 2.18, 6.46)), the use of traditional eye medication (AOR = 2.55 (95%CI: 1.04, 5.90)) and family history of pterygium (AOR = 6.68(95% CI: 2.53, 17.60)) were positively associated with pterygium whereas use of sunglass/hat (AOR = 0.40(95%CI:0.20, 0.78)) was negatively associated. CONCLUSION: There is a high prevalence of pterygium in Gondar city northwest Ethiopia. Old age, male sex, outdoor working area, utilization of traditional eye medication and family history of pterygium were statistically significant predictors of pterygium. The use of sunglass/hat was protective against pterygium.