Unilateral Absolute Blindness: Prevalence, Causes and Profile in A Tertiary Ophthalmic Out-Patient Nigerian Population

Abstract

Objective: To determine the prevalence, causes and profile of unilateral absolute blindness in University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu, Nigeria. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive, hospital-based survey involving 119 participants with unilateral absolute blindness (no perception of light) out of the 14,439 patients, who attended the ophthalmic clinic from 1 st December 2009 to 28 th February 2011. Information on their socio-demographic characteristics and clinical ophthalmic profile were collected using a close-ended, interviewer-administered questionnaire. Causes of the absolute blindness were ascertained following ophthalmic evaluation. Data was analysed using SPSS 21 Results: The participants comprised of 64 males and 55 females with a mean age of 51.52 ± 22.16 SD years, and age range 2 to 93. They had at least primary school education, were predominantly farmers and lived in rural areas. The prevalence of unilateral absolute blindness was 0.82%, (0.44% in males, and 0.38% in females). Glaucoma, 42 (35%) and trauma 23(19.3%) were the commonest causes of absolute blindness. The majority of the participants had absolute blindness for more than three months (84.1%) with diseased fellow eyes (66.4%). Causes of disease in the fellow eyes included glaucoma, cataract, aphakia and refractive error. Conclusion: The prevalence of unilateral absolute blindness is significant in the study area. These patients are on verge of being bilaterally and irreversibly blind from glaucoma. Interestingly, cataract, aphakia and refractive error are amenable to cost effective treatments. Appropriate public eye health measures to forestall this tragedy, particularly targeting poorly educated farmers in the rural areas are therefore advised.