Refractive status seen amongst school pupils with vernal keratoconjunctivitis in Jos East Local Government Area of Plateau State, North - Central Nigeria

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to determine the types of refractive errors commonly seen in patients with Vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) among the pupils in the Jos East Local Government area of Plateau State, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A school-based descriptive study using a multistage sampling technique was carried out for 4 months. The visual acuity of the pupils was checked using a non-illuminated Snellen’s chart at 6 m, assessing one eye at a time. Individuals with visual acuity worse than 6/12 had pinhole tests and refraction done. Statistical analysis was done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20 and frequencies, simple percentages, and Chi-square were used to compare proportions. Results: A total of 400 participants were seen during the study, out of which 84 participants had vernal keratoconjunctivitis. Of these, 51 (60.7%) had refractive errors. Astigmatism was the most common form of refractive error seen in our study 26 (31%), myopia was seen in 15 (17.9%) whereas hypermetropia was the least seen in 10(11.9%). Simple astigmatism was seen more in individuals with acute stage of VKC 9 (75.0%) whereas compound astigmatism was commonly seen in participants with chronic stage of VKC (42.9%). Conclusion: Astigmatism was the commonest form of refractive error seen in these patients and simple astigmatism was the commonest variant of astigmatism seen.