1 research outputs found
Visual status and blindness cause among Blind School Children in Chittagong City of Bangladesh
No full textAbstract
Childhood blindness has profound consequences not only for the individual but also for the family and the community. This is particularly true in the developing world. An estimated 1.4 million children are blind of whom 1 million live in Asia. The study aimed to identify the major treatable or preventable causes of visual loss in children attending blind schools in Chittagong.
A total of 59 fifty-nine children with blindness or severe visual impairment attending only one school for the blind were examined and details recordings were done according to the WHO standard format. Children were asked with the aid of an interpreter the age at which they lost vision, whether they knew the causes of their poor vision, and whether there was any relevant family history including a history of consanguinity. Limited past medical history of children was available. Visual acuity was measured using an illiterate E chart. All children were refracted where possible, and visual acuity was repeated with correction. Visual loss was classified according to the WHO categories of visual impairment. An assessment of functional vision was made on all students. This tested the ability to walk around, to recognize faces, and to see large print.
The total number of male and female children examined was almost equal (male 50.8%). The majority of the children (49.2%) were between 11 and 15 years old. Of the children examined (94.9%) were blind (3/60 - NPL) and (5.1%) had severe visual impairment (6/24-4/60). Of those children who were blind or had severe visual impairment (37.3%) had navigational vision being able to walk unaided between two chairs placed 1 meter apart in a room. Only (6.8%) of students in a blind school had an associated disability while the remaining (93.2%) of students did not have any associated disability. Among the students who participated in the study (37.3%) gave a history of blindness among the family members. Parental consanguinity was identified among 32.2% of the children. Of all students who participated in the study, their whole globe (28.2%), the cornea (9.3%), lens (16.1%), retina (35.6%), optic nerve (1.7%), and amblyopia (2.5%) were found to be the affected sites causing blind or severe visual impairment. Since birth 67.8% of the children were blind. All of the children's visual acuity improved with pinhole (8.5%). The main causes of blindness were retinitis pigmentosa (19.49%), phthisis bulbi(16.95%), congenital cataract(9.32%), pseudophakia (9.32%), buphthalmos (9.9.32%), nystagmus(6.7%), amblyopia (16.95%) and others (30.5%).
Among the students of blind school, different causes of blindness were revealed. Different ocular abnormalities were found as the reason for blindness where retinitis pigmentosa, amblyopia, and congenital cataracts were major causes of blindness. It was found that the major affected ocular sites were the retina and the whole globe. Some blind children, of them improved their visual acuity with low-vision devices and optical correction
