Jfa Owoeye

Cataract surgery in the last decade at University Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Nigeria

A retrospective study of all the patients admitted to the eye ward of University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) between January 1990 and December 2000 was done to determine the prevalence of cataract among them. The demographic data and possible risk factors for cataract as well as the laterality of the blind eye were recorded for each patient. The diagnosis of cataract was based on the patients history, visual acuity assessment by Snellen chart and morphological changes on ophthalmoscopy and slit-lamp microscopy. Seven hundred and sixty-two (43.1%) of the admitted patients (1,769) had cataract consisting of 411 males (53.9%) and 351 females (46.1%), giving M: F ratio 1.2:1. Cataract cases accounted for 54.5% of all ocular surgeries (n = 1,398). About 10% were below the age of 16 years. Bilateral cases were 78.9%, unilateral 21.1%. The right and left eye was involved in 13.2% and 7.9% cases respectively. Cataract was most common (76.6%) in patients older than 45 years. Other causes were congenital – 4.3%, trauma – 11.4%, secondary – 1.2% and unspecified causes – 6.4%. Though hospital based, the prevalence of cataract might be a reflection of the situation within the community as several factors might have been responsible for the low uptake of surgery. Cataract surgical services should be more accessible to the people. We are unaware of a similar report from this institution since the inception of the department as a tertiary eye center in 1988. Keywords : cataract, prevalence, Ilorin, Nigeria Nigerian Medical Practitioner Vol. 49(6) 2006: 161-163