The pattern of childhood eye diseases at a tertiary hospital in Akure, South-Western Nigeria

PURPOSE: Good visual health is important in children for healthy growth and good educational performance. Ocular diseases are regular causes of hospital consultations with varying types of diseases in different localities. This study aimed to determine the pattern of childhood eye diseases and provide baseline data in our hospital.
METHODS: This is a retrospective review of all patients aged between 0 and 17 years old who presented to the eye clinic of our hospital to our clinic between January 2021 and December 2022. Diagnoses were made by the consultants and follow-up of the patients was done by the ophthalmology residents. Data on age at presentation, sex, and diagnosis were collected and analyzed using SPSS. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.
RESULTS: A total of 639 pediatric cases presented to the clinic during the study period with a male-to-female ratio of 1: 1.1. This represents 24.62% of all the cases (adults and children) that presented to the eye clinic within the study period. Children aged 11–17 years made up the largest group (p=0.013). Refractive errors (37.9%), allergic and vernal conjunctivitis (32.7%), ocular trauma (7.0%), and infective conjunctivitis (3.8%) were the most common conditions. Refractive error was more common in females (p=0.002).
CONCLUSION: The knowledge of common childhood diseases can aid planning, allocation of resources and increase awareness to prevent these potentially blinding conditions.

Keywords: Allergic conjunctivitis, children, ocular trauma, pattern, refractive errors.