An ophthalmic assessment of patients in four out of the five leprosy clinics in Anambra State, eastern Nigeria, showed that 63% had ocular disease and 43.5% had sight-threatening disorders. Most of the problems occurred in multibacillary leprosy patients. The blindness rate of (8.7%) is nearly 10 times higher than that within the general population in area. The causes of blindness were cataract, exposure keratopathy and uveitis. Some patients also had glaucoma and chorioretinal lesions. Eye health service within the leprosy control service in the area is non-existent. The importance of giving priority to blindness prevention in leprosy patients in the area is emphasised.
BT - East African medical journal C1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7828497?dopt=Abstract CN - NWOSU1994 DA - 1994 Jul IS - 7 J2 - East Afr Med J LA - eng N2 -An ophthalmic assessment of patients in four out of the five leprosy clinics in Anambra State, eastern Nigeria, showed that 63% had ocular disease and 43.5% had sight-threatening disorders. Most of the problems occurred in multibacillary leprosy patients. The blindness rate of (8.7%) is nearly 10 times higher than that within the general population in area. The causes of blindness were cataract, exposure keratopathy and uveitis. Some patients also had glaucoma and chorioretinal lesions. Eye health service within the leprosy control service in the area is non-existent. The importance of giving priority to blindness prevention in leprosy patients in the area is emphasised.
PY - 1994 SP - 441 EP - 4 T2 - East African medical journal TI - Ocular findings in leprosy patients in Nigeria. VL - 71 SN - 0012-835X ER -