Ocular comorbidities in children with strabismus in Benin City

Abstract

Background: Strabismus is the misalignment of the visual axis. Certain comorbidities have been found to be associated with strabismus. These must be identified and treated. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the ocular comorbidities associated with strabismus in children 15 years and below presenting to the eye clinic of University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, from January 2014 to December 2014. Patients and Methods: This is a prospective hospital-based observational study of consecutive patients seen in the eye clinic. Results: Fifty-five children presented with strabismus accounting for 2.6% of the total number of 2112 new cases. There were 30 males (54.5%) and 25 females (45.5%) giving a male-to-female ratio of 1:0.83. The age range was from 5 months to 14 years. The mean age was 4.7 years with a standard deviation of ± 3.4 years. Thirty-seven (67.3%) of the patients were under 5 years of age. Forty-seven (85.5%) patients had esotropia, six (10.9%) had exotropia, and two (3.6%) had hypertropia. Vision-impairing comorbidities included refractive error in 33 (64.7%) patients, cataract in 9 (17.6%) patients, corneal opacity in 1 (2.0%) patient, and retinopathy of prematurity in 1 (2.0%) patient. Nonvision-impairing disorders were microcornea, conjunctivitis, and nasolacrimal duct obstruction. The relationship between ocular comorbidity and types of strabismus was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Detailed assessment to identify the comorbidities associated with strabismus is recommended. This could improve the management of this condition.