Pediatric Ocular Morbidity among Admitted Patients in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Eastern India

Abstract

ABSTRACT Aim: This study aimed to determine the causes of pediatric ocular morbidity in the in-patient department of a tertiary-care hospital in eastern India. Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study done on admitted patients in the age group of 0–12 years between July 1, 2019, to December 31, 2019, in a tertiary-care hospital in eastern India. Results: During the study period, a total of 5775 patients were admitted to the hospital, out of which 447 were children belonging to 0–12 years, the prevalence being 7.74%. Out of the 447 children, 276 were males (61.74%) and 171 were females (38.26%) with a male:female ratio of 1.6:1. A total of 31.77% patients were reported from urban areas and 23% from rural areas. The mean age of the children was 5.5 years (range: 20 days–12 years). The highest frequency of admission was found in the age group of zero to 4 years (61.74%). Ocular trauma (44.07%) was found to be the most common ocular morbidity, followed by cataract (32.21%) and infectious ocular diseases (7.61%). The average duration of stay in the hospital was 4.9 days ranging from 2 to 56 days. Conclusion: Timely intervention with early diagnosis and regular follow-up are essential in the management of pediatric ocular morbidity as well as childhood blindness. In our study, ocular trauma was found to be most common ocular morbidity leading to poor visual outcome and hospital admission, which can be prevented by safe home practices and parental education.