PREVALENCE AND CAUSES OF BLINDNESS IN PATIENTS AGED 15 AND OVER AT THE GAROUA REGIONAL HOSPITAL IN NORTHERN CAMEROON.
Keywords:
Blindness-Prevalence-CausesAbstract
INTRODUCTION: In Cameroun, a central African country, the prevalence of blindness is estimated at 1% by the World health Organization (WHO). The aim of our study was to determine the frequency of blindness and the pathologies that cause it in our environment.
METHODOLOGY: This was a descriptive and retrospective study from June 2018 to November 2022.For the 540 patient’s files registered as blind and consulted at the ophthalmology department of the Garoua Regional Hospital during this period, we recruited for the analyses 167 patients. We did a consecutive and exhaustive sampling. The variables studied are age, sex, occupation, place of residence, the type of blindness, investigations performed (ocular ultrasound for difficult fundoscopies, X-ray and/or CT scan of the orbit following ocular injury). Data was collected and analyzed using IBM SPSS version 23 software.
RESULTS: The prevalence of blindness at the Garoua Regional Hospital was 3.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3,0 - 3,5%.). The mean age was 52.8 ± 18.3 years. The sex ratio was 1.1. Jobless patients represented 43.1%, 17.3% had an informal occupation and 12.3% were farmers. Monocular blindness occurred in 59.3% of patients and binocular blindness in 49.7%. Cataract was the most frequent cause of blindness (50.9%), followed by ocular injury (16.2%), glaucoma (11.4%). Senile cataracts represented 73.7% of cataracts.
CONCLUSION: Blindness is frequent at the Garoua Regional Hospital. Senile cataract is the most frequent cause
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