González Viejo I, Ferrer Novella C, Ferrer Novella E, Pueyo Subías M, Bueno Lozano J, Vicente Aznar E
Hospital Miguel Servet, Servicio de Oftalmología, Zaragoza.
An Esp Pediatr. 1996 Aug;45(2):137-9.
Down's Syndrome is the most frequent chromosomal aberration. There is a wide variety of symptoms. From an ophthalmological point of view, numerous alterations associated with Down's Syndrome have been described.
We have carried out a complete ophthalmic exploration on 60 children with Down's Syndrome and 60 control children.
The first group showed a high percentage of refraction errors (90%), nystagmus (28%), strabismus (48%) and cataracts (13%). If we compare these results with those of the control group we find that the Down's group has a frequency significantly higher both in refraction errors as a whole (p < 0.001) and myopia (p < 0.01), hypermetropia (p < 0.02) and stigmatism (p < 0.001). They have also shown a frequency significantly higher of strabismus (p < 0.001).
All of the observed alterations can have a negative influence on the appropriate educational development of these children. An early ophthalmological exploration would be advisable in children with Down's Syndrome.
