Abstract
Background: Ghana has been reported to have the second highest prevalence of glaucoma worldwide.Aim: Because of glaucoma causing numerous cases of irreversible blindness, there is the need for baseline data for glaucoma characteristics among Ghanaians. This study was conducted to determine the demographic and clinical characteristics of glaucoma patients in a tertiary eye centre.Setting: The setting for this study is the eye clinic of the Agogo Presbyterian Hospital, which is situated in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.Methods: The medical records of patients who attended the eye centre from January 2013 to December 2017 were reviewed. The data collected included the demographic variables and clinical characteristics of patients diagnosed with glaucoma.Results: Of the 1100 medical records reviewed, 311 were diagnosed with glaucoma. Of the 311 patients, 159 (51.1%) were males and 152 (48.9%) were females, with their ages ranging from 11 to 104 years (mean = 60 ± 18.1 years). Primary open-angle, secondary, juvenile and primary angle-closure glaucomas accounted for 81.6%, 11%, 3.8% and 3.6%, respectively, of all cases of glaucoma. The average intra-ocular pressure was 28.2 ± 11 mmHg. The cup-to-disc ratio and visual acuity varied significantly among the various ethnic groups (p 0.05), while the average intra-ocular pressure did not (p 0.05). Timolol was the first line of treatment for 91.4% cases of glaucoma.Conclusion: Primary open-angle glaucoma is the predominant type in this population, with the clinical characteristics of visual acuity and cup-to-disc ratio varying among the different Ghanaian ethnic groups. There is a need for population-based epidemiologic studies to validate the data collected in this hospital-based study.
Highlights
Glaucoma is defined as a multifactorial optic neuropathy, which is characterised by progressive damage of the retinal ganglion cells and axons, and a thinning of the nerve fibre layer and neuroretinal rim.[1]
Primary open-angle, secondary, juvenile and primary angle-closure glaucomas accounted for 81.6%, 11%, 3.8% and 3.6%, respectively, of all cases of glaucoma
Primary open-angle glaucoma is the predominant type in this population, with the clinical characteristics of visual acuity and cup-to-disc ratio varying among the different Ghanaian ethnic groups
Summary
Glaucoma is defined as a multifactorial optic neuropathy, which is characterised by progressive damage of the retinal ganglion cells and axons, and a thinning of the nerve fibre layer and neuroretinal rim.[1] The classical clinical presentation of the condition includes optic nerve head features such as enlargement of the cup, laminar dot sign, peripapillary atrophy, nasal shifting of central vessels and correlating visual field changes.[1] Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide and the second leading cause of global blindness.[1,2] Its prevalence and subtypes vary across different ages, races and geographical locations.[2] It is estimated that over 67 million people worldwide have glaucoma, of which over 4.5 million are blind,[2] with reports indicating that this will increase from 67 to 79.6 million by the year 2020.2. Ghana has been reported to have the second highest prevalence of glaucoma worldwide
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