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Ophthalmol Case Rep 2017 Volume 1 Issue 1
August 21-23, 2017 | Toronto, Canada EYE AND VISION3rd International Conference on
Objectives: The objective of this study is to determine the
causes of blindness among children (aged 0-18years) seen at
National Eye Centre, Kaduna from January 2011-December
2015.
Methods: The study involved review of case files of 2145
records of children aged 0-18 years who visited National Eye
Centre, Kaduna from January 2011-December 2015. Those
diagnosed based on WHO criteria for blindness as been
blind were identified and causes of blindness among them
were categorized according to gender, age and laterality,
preventable, treatable and avoidable causes of blindness.
Frequencies and descriptive tables were generated using the
Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.0. Chi
squared test, student’s t-test were used to compare means
and values were considered statistically significant at p<0.05.
Results: A total of 2145 children case files were reviewed,
789 (36.8%) children had childhood blindness. The major
causes of childhood blindness were cataract (52.6%), retinal
disorders (14.1%), glaucoma (10.3%), corneal opacity (5.7%),
refractive error (5.6%) and others (11.8%). 19.5% were
visually impaired, 14.5% were totally blind (NLP) and 5%
had low vision/reduced vision in at least one eye. Childhood
blindness was more prevalent among children aged 5 to
12 years (38.1%) and birth to 1 year (20.7%). There was
statistically significant difference in gender males (57.4%)
and females (42.3%). 58.2% of the causes of blindness found
in the study are treatable, 16.0% are preventable while
25.8% are avoidable.
Conclusion: Blindness is a serious public health problem in
the northern part of Nigeria, and there is urgent need to
implement comprehensive childhood blindness prevention
programs. Further surveys are essential to confirm these
findings and determine the causes of childhood blindness in
other parts of Nigeria to achieve VISION 2020 objectives.
Speaker Biography
Ezinne Ngozika Esther is a Nigerian. She studied optometry at Abia State University
Uturu Nigeria and obtained the Doctor of Optometry Degree in 2006. She is very
Passionate about Optometry Profession and has worked with Orbis International and
Brien Holden vision Institute. She is interested in Pediatric optometry and Low vision.
She has worked as a lecturer at the University of Gondar Ethiopia, Mzuzu University
Malawi and Madonna University Nigeria. Currently, she is a postgraduate student of
University of Kwa Zulu -Natal Durban South Africa. She has eight Research Publications,
has 5 siblings and likes reading, watching television and listening to music.
e:
Causes of childhood blindness at National Eye Centre Kaduna, Nigeria from January 2011 to December
2015
Ezinne Ngozika Esther, Nnadi and Onoikhua
Madonna University Nigeria