Abstract
Objective: 1. To estimate the prevalence of refractive errors in school children (6-17yrs) and to categorize them. 2.To find out the prevalence of amblyopia in school children. 3.To study the compliance of spectacle use in children and to analyse factors determining the compliance of spectacle use in them.
Study Design: Prospective study conducted in1.DV lower primary school, Mundathikode,Thrissur.2. NSS higher secondary school Mundathikode, Thrissur. 3. Department of ophthalmology, Government medical college, Thrissur
Duration of study:1 year
The study was conducted in four phases.1.Vision screening of all children done in the schools.2.Detailed evaluation of those children with a visual acuity £ 6/9 or asthenopic symptoms for ocular alignment. 3.Post-mydriatic test for subjective refraction and prescription of glasses in suitable cases.4. Follow up 6 months after prescribing spectacles by a surprise school visit to assess the compliance of spectacle use, which is followed by a re-evaluation of vision in the Medical College Hospital.
Results: A total of 1183 students were screened using the Snellen”s visual acuity diagram. 82 students were detected to have refractive errors. Prevalence of refractive errors in this study was 6.9 %.The prevalence of myopia was 2.28%, hypermetropia-0.17% and astigmatism- 4.48%.The prevalence of amblyopia among the total number of students screened was 0.33 %. among students with refractive errors it was 4.9 % .
Conclusion: Refractive error in children is under diagnosed and proper awareness can prevent amblyopia in them by increasing compliance
Keywords: Refractive error, Myopia, astigmatism, Hypermetropia, amblyopia, Spectacle compliance
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DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v5i4.67
