Pattern of pediatric ocular disease in a tertiary eye care centre of bihar: a hospital based study

Purpose: Ocular diseases vary from children to children in different age group. They also vary in prevalence & incidence according to various region. In our study the main aim is to determine various childhood ocular disease in tertiary eye care centre of Bihar. It is a hospital based study.
Methodology: We conducted a Retrospective one year observational study in all patients less than 16 yrs of age group attending in regional institute of ophthalmology Patna Bihar from 1st January 2017 to 31th December 2017. Data on age at presentation, age at onset of disease, sex & diagnosis were collected & analyzed using SPSS version19.
Result: We evaluated a medical record of 1726 children. The mean age at presentation was 10 yrs with 25% in preschool age group (0-5 years), 35% in school age group (6-10 years) & 40% in (11-15 years) age group. The male to female ratio was 1.75: 1, Refractive error (24%) was the most presenting disorder followed by common seasonal eyelid & adenexal infection (17%), allergic conjunctivitis (16%), Trauma (15%), congenital causes (14%), strabismus (5%), vitamin A deficiency (4%), corneal opacity (2%) & others (3%).
Conclusion: Refractive error was the most common cause for hospital visit which causes severe visual impairment lading to absenteeism and poor school performance. This study also shows the extra need for implementing school screening in Bihar. Vitamin A deficiency & malnutrition still remain one of the important preventable cause for ocular morbidity in this region.