Proportions and incidence rates of corneal lesions

Abstract

Many corneal lesions end in corneal blindness by opacity. Eye Bank, which is not yet available in Yemen, is the source of substituted corneal grafts to retain eye vision. This study compared percentages and incidence rates of corneal lesions in two samples of total 2600 patients in 1993 and 1440 patients in 2004 who attended the same clinic. From the total new eye patients, these with corneal lesions either isolated or combined underwent the same determinants to show demography, etiology, and laterality through documenting their basic data, full history, and examinations. Results: Respectively among the tow samples, a total of (141) 5.42% and (135) 9.38% (belonging to (130) 5.0% and (118) 8.19% patients) had corneal lesions distributed among all age groups, with the age group of 19- 50 years constituted (66) 50.77% and (65) 55.08%. The demography in (number) percentage and incidence rates were as follows: samples were comparable higher among males in (80) 61.54%, 3.08%, and (84) 71.19%, 5.48%, monocular (130) 92.2%, 5.00%, and (118) 87.41%, 8.19%, and AGMH received (79) 66.94%, 5.49%, and (118) 87.0%, 8.00% of the total attendance from outside Sana'a city. Right eye was in (48) 34.04%, 1.85%, and (75) 55.5%, 5.21%. Among etiologies, the incidences were: trauma (69) 2.65%, (61) 4.24%, inflammation (36) 1.38%, 3.08%, and (18) 1.25%; both are controllable and constituted 66.7% and 51% of the total corneal lesions. Then degenerative lesions (12) 0.423%, (9) 0.625%, keratoconus (8) 0.307%, (12) 0.833%, edema (5) 0.231%, (12) 0.833%, dryness (5) 0.192%, (7) 0.278%, dystrophy (4) 0.154%, (8) 0.416%, congenital (2) 0.076%, (6) 0.416%, and tumors were only in 2004 as (2) 0.138%. Conclusion: The incidence rates of corneal lesions were 5.0 and 8.0%, and the proportions of the controllable trauma and inflammations were 66.67% and 51.1%, reflecting the need for wide distribution of eye health centers among the country.