Abstract
Purpose :
Mulago hospital is the national referral hospital of Uganda yet there is scant literature on the incidence and prevalence of childhood eye disease in Uganda. To better allocate resources in the paediatric clinic and theatres at Mulago hospital a better understanding of presenting causes is needed. A retrospective observational study was conducted in June 2014.
Methods :
All children presenting to the paediatric clinic at Mulago hospital during the period September 2013 – June 2014 were included. All children were included up until their eighteenth birthday. All presenting complaints were included. Repeat attendances were excluded. Incidence of disease was matched to tribal ethnicity and t-tests were used to determine statistical significance.
Results :
Squint (11%)and cataract (9%) made up a high proportion of presenting complaints. Allergy (8%) and trauma (5%) were similarly prevalent, often presenting late. Trivial factors such as subconjunctival haemorrhage or minor corneal abrasions were rare (<2%). Non-specified visual impairment was recorded as a presenting cause in 10% of admissions.
Conclusions :
Ocular discomfort and stigmatising appearance were two driving factors for presentation to the eye department. Often cost and distance of travel leads to late presentation for even significant ophthalmic pathology.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.