Vision of Strabismic Children in Ilorin, Nigeria

Abstract

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the visual pattern of strabismic children. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out among primary school children in Ilorin South Local Government Area. A cluster random sampling technique was used to select the subjects for this study. The pattern of vision of children found to have ocular misalignment was studied. Results: A total of 7288 school children were screened and this yielded 22 cases of esotropia and 10 cases of exotropia. Their ages ranged from 2 to 16 years; 78.1% of the study group had normal vision; 3.1% had low vision and another 3.1% was blind. Eight-two per cent (82%) of the children with esotropia had normal vision, while 4.5% were blind; 70% of the children with exotropia had normal vision; 10% of exotropics had low vision. Twenty-five per cent(25%) of the strabismic population was amblyopic, and the majority of the cases of amblyopia (62.5%) were associated with esotropia. The prevalence of strabismic amblyopia was found to be 0.11%. Conclusion: The majority of strabismic children had normal vision. The prevalence of low vision and blindness was low. The prevalence of strabismic amblyopia was also low in the study population and most of it was associated with esotropia. Keywords : esotropia, exotropia, amblyopia, children, Nigeria Nigerian Journal of Ophthalmology Vol. 16 (1) 2008: pp. 12-15