Profile of Secondary Glaucoma in A Semi Urban Tertiary Health Care Hospital In Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: Glaucoma is the second-most-frequent cause of blindness in the world. Most primary glaucomas are managed by early diagnosis and treatment however secondary glaucomas differ from primary by the fact that, if the primary pathology is treated properly and the possibility of secondary glaucoma is kept in mind, glaucomatous damage can be easily prevented. This study is aimed at determining the prevalence and pattern of secondary glaucoma, the knowledge of which will help in reducing the glaucoma blindness. Methods: A retrospective review of medical records of all consecutive newly diagnosed glaucoma patients attending the eye clinic of Ekiti state university teaching hospital,(Eksuth) Ado Ekiti, from January 2011 to December 2012 were selected for the study. Each patient had a complete ophthalmic evaluation, including relevant history, visual acuity testing, slit-lamp examination, applanation tonometry, gonioscopy with a 4mirror goniolens and standard automated perimetry. Data collected was collated and analyzed using SPSS version 16 (SPSS, Inc, Chicago, USA). Frequencies and means were generated to observe patterns of variable distribution among the patients. Result: A total of 5655 new patients attended the eye clinic during the study period, 1660(29.4%) were diagnosed with glaucoma out of which primary glaucoma were 1561(94.0%) while secondary were 99(6.0%). The spectrum of secondary glaucoma were post traumatic glaucoma 25(25.2%), lens related glaucoma 16(16.2%), steroid induced glaucoma 14(14.2%), neovascular glaucoma 12(12.1%), uveitic glaucoma 10(10.1%), pseudoexfoliation glaucoma 10(10.1%), pigmentary glaucoma 6(6.1%), aphakic glaucoma 6(6.1%). Conclusion: Post traumatic secondary glaucoma has the highest frequency of occurrence and as with others, requires prompt diagnosis and treatment which may help significantly in preventing resultant visual impairment and blindness.