Abstract
Purpose: :
To determine visual acuity (VA) in Sudanese refugee school-children and Egyptian orphans living in Cairo, Egypt and to compare data against that of the general Cairo school-child population.
Methods: :
As part of a basic health screening performed by medical students from the Loyola University Global Health Fund, 140 Sudanese refugee school-children and 70 Egyptian orphans in Cairo, Egypt underwent a preliminary survey to detect the prevalence of low VA (≤ 20/40). VA was determined using a Snellen tumbling E chart for both distance and near vision. No further ophthalmic testing was done if VA was greater than 20/40. For those with VA ≤ 20/40, refractive error (RE) was determined using a focometer. Children with a difference in VA between both eyes were seen by an ophthalmologist for further testing. Glasses were given to those children who demonstrated RE. VA with correction was recorded. Basic statistical analysis was performed on collected data.
Results: :
11 out of the 140 (7.86%) refugee children tested had VA ≤ 20/40, while 22 of the 70 (31.43%) orphans tested had VA ≤ 20/40. Of the 22 orphans with VA ≤ 20/40, 8 (36.36%) were affected in only one eye as compared to 0 (0%) of the 11 refugee children with VA ≤ 20/40 being affected in only one eye. In the orphan population, there was a difference in VA between both eyes in 9 children as compared to 1 child in the refugee population. Out of the 11 refugee children with VA ≤ 20/40, 7 were corrected to 20/20, 1 to 20/25, and 2 to 20/30. The 1 child with a difference in VA between both eyes was prescribed glasses by an ophthalmologist and it is unknown to what degree vision was corrected. Out of the 22 orphans with VA ≤ 20/40, 9 were corrected to 20/20, 2 to 20/25, and 2 to 20/30. All 9 children with a difference in VA between both eyes were referred to an ophthalmologist. It is unknown to what degree vision was corrected.In comparison to the general Cairo school-child population, the Sudanese refugee school-children had a lower incidence of RE (7.86% vs. 22.10%) while the orphans had a higher incidence of RE (31.43% vs. 22.10%).
Conclusions: :
The results show a significant difference in VA and prevalence of RE among the Cairo orphan population, Sudanese refugee children situated in Cairo, and the general Cairo school-child population as indicated by El-Bayoumy, et al. in their study of "Prevalence of Refractive Error and Low Vision among schoolchildren in Cairo".
Keywords: clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence • visual acuity • refractive error development