Ajige James Lokoja, Muhammad Nasiru, Hassan-Wali Amina
Department of Ophthalmology, Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia, Nasarawa State.
Department of Ophthalmology, Usman Danfodiyo University and UDU Teaching Hospital, Sokoto State.
Niger Med J. 2022 Sep 10;63(1):10-15. doi: 10.60787/NMJ-63-1-89. eCollection 2022 Jan-Feb.
To use the Key Informant survey to estimate the magnitude and to identify the major causes of blindness and severe visual impairment in children of Nassarawa Eggon Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, Nigeria.
Twenty-eight trained Key Informants traced and referred children believed to be blind or visually impaired. Biodata record, history and eye examination were based on the operational definitions in the WHO/PBL coding instruction manual for childhood blindness. Data were entered and analyzed in the WHO/PBL Childhood Blindness Software (CBS) V 1.2.75 by an ophthalmologist and a statistician.
The Key Informants identified 51 children of which 50 (98%) were examined. Eight (16%) of the children examined were blind, another 8 (16%) had severe visual impairment, 16 (32%) were visually impaired, 7 (14%) had monocular blindness and 11 (22%) were normal. The estimated crude prevalence of childhood blindness was 0.01% and of moderate-severe visual impairment was 0.03%. The major causes of blindness and severe visual impairment were cataract, corneal opacity, and refractive errors. Ninety-four percent of the causes of blindness and moderate-severe visual impairment in children were avoidable. It was estimated that some 415 children in Nasarawa state are blind or have moderate to severe visual impairment.
The estimated magnitude of blindness and visual impairment in Nassarawa Eggon LGA is 8 and 24 children respectively with a crude blindness prevalence of 0.01% (1 per 10,000). Cataract was the commonest cause of childhood blindness and severe visual impairment in Nassarawa Eggon local government area with 93.8% of the causes of blindness and visual impairment being avoidable.
采用关键 informant 调查法来评估尼日利亚纳萨拉瓦州纳萨拉瓦埃贡地方政府辖区儿童失明及严重视力损害的程度，并确定其主要原因。
28 名经过培训的关键 informant 追踪并转诊被认为失明或有视力损害的儿童。生物数据记录、病史及眼部检查均依据世界卫生组织/预防盲症和视力损害项目（WHO/PBL）儿童失明编码指导手册中的操作定义。数据由一名眼科医生和一名统计学家录入并使用 WHO/PBL 儿童失明软件（CBS）V 1.2.75 进行分析。
关键 informant 识别出 51 名儿童，其中 50 名（98%）接受了检查。接受检查的儿童中，8 名（16%）失明，另外 8 名（16%）有严重视力损害，16 名（32%）有视力损害，7 名（14%）为单眼失明，11 名（22%）视力正常。儿童失明的估计粗患病率为 0.01%，中重度视力损害的估计粗患病率为 0.03%。失明和严重视力损害的主要原因是白内障、角膜混浊和屈光不正。儿童失明和中重度视力损害原因的 94%是可避免的。据估计，纳萨拉瓦州约有 415 名儿童失明或有中重度视力损害。
纳萨拉瓦埃贡地方政府辖区失明和视力损害的估计人数分别为 8 名和 24 名儿童，失明粗患病率为 0.01%（每 10000 人中有 1 人）。白内障是纳萨拉瓦埃贡地方政府辖区儿童失明和严重视力损害的最常见原因，失明和视力损害原因的 93.8%是可避免的。
