A Hospital Based Clinical Study on Corneal Blindness in a Tertiary Eye Care Centre in North Telangana

• Main Authors: Raghu Veladanda, Sindhu Sulekha Ch, Laxmipriya Pallapolu, Charul Singh, Vasavi Desaraju
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences University 2016-04-01
• Series: Journal of Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences University
• Subjects: Cornea; Prevalence; Blindness; Hospital based study
• Online Access: http://jkimsu.com/jkimsu-vol5no2/JKIMSU,%20Vol.%205,%20No.%202,%20April-June%202016%20Page%2012-17.pdf

Background: Worldwide there are nearly 2.7 million blind people due to corneal disease which is a major causes of blindness in the world today and remains second only to cataract. Aim & Objective: The present hospital based retrospective study was undertaken to estimate the prevalence of corneal blindness in patients attending tertiary eye care center in Chalmeda Anand Rao Institute of Medical Sciences, Karimnagar. Material and Methods: A hospital-based study was conducted over a period of 1 year from August 2014 to August 2015. Participants were patients attending outpatient department of Chalmeda Anand Rao Institute of Medical Sciences. Detailed history was taken and comprehensive ocular examination including Snellen E-chart for visual acuity, slit lamp bio microscopy, contact tonometry, posterior segment evaluation through B-scan and dilated retinal evaluation when indicated was performed at out patient department. Results: Overall, 33,566 patients were examined. Proportion of corneal blindness was 3.9% (CI-95% 3.6% - 4.3%). The proportion increased with age in elderly patients (5.7%) and was higher among the females (5.2%) compared to males (2.8%). The most common cause of corneal blindness in our study was ocular trauma which was 59.5%. Conclusion: The study ?findings demonstrate that currently ocular trauma, corneal ulceration, infectious keratitis, postsurgical bullous keratopathy, and corneal degenerations are responsible for the major burden of corneal blindness among the patients attending outpatient department.