Eye disease screening in infants attending vaccination clinic in Butajira town, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Timely and periodic screening of eye diseases in infants is critical for the detection of visual impairment and its etiology as well as to plan early intervention.The aim of this study was to identify infants with eye disorders who visited the vaccination clinic. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in infants visiting the vaccination clinic in Butajira town, Ethiopia, from August 1 to 31, 2022. Screening activities included parental reports of ophthalmic complaints, family history of childhood ocular illnesses, and risk factors for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). The screening procedure involved assessing vision, adnexia, ocular motility, Hirschberg's test, pupils, red reflex, and anterior/posterior segments. Data collected were analyzed to determine the prevalence and types of eye disorders. The relationship between predictor variables and the presence or absence of diseases was assessed. Results: Out of 244 screened infants, 51.2% were female and 48.8% were male. The mean age was 3.35 ± 2.95 months, with the majority falling into the 1-3 month age group (52.5%). Diagnoses were made in 41.4% of infants. The causes of eye diseases were bacterial conjunctivitis (24.6%), congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction (5.7%), and epiblepharon (3.3%). A family history of childhood ocular illness in first-degree relatives was reported in 3.7% of infants. Risk factors for retinopathy of prematurity were identified in 2.4% of neonates. The findings showed that no predictor variable was statistically significant in predicting the presence of diseases. Conclusions: Vaccination clinics could serve as important sites of eye screening in infants to identify common eye diseases and risk factors for ocular illness, such as risk factors for retinopathy of prematurity or family history of childhood eye diseases.