Retinal dystrophy and congenital glaucoma as major causes of vision loss in students attending two institutions for the visually disabled in Tunis city, Tunisia.

PURPOSE: To assess vision loss, identify affected anatomical sites, determine etiologies and potentially avoidable causes in students attending two institutions for the visually disabled in Tunis city.

METHODS

A visit for a complete ophthalmological examination was performed. All students attending these schools were recruited in our study. The World Health Organisation Programme for the Prevention of Blindness (WHO/PBL) examination record for children was used. Data was analysed by the SPSS version 17 statistical software.

RESULTS

A total of 172 students were recruited with mean age of 11.9±3.3 years (between 6 and 18 years). One hundred and thirty-seven (79.6%) were under 16 years. The sex-ratio was 1.17. Ninety students (52.3%) had low vision and eighty-two (47.7%) were blind. We reported retina (29%), whole globe (29%), globe appears normal (11%) and optic nerve (9.8%) as the common sites of ocular abnormalities. Retinal dystrophy (22.7%) and congenital glaucoma (22.7%) were the most reported ocular diseases. The main etiologies were hereditary (54.1%) and unknown (30.8%). Consanguinity was reported in 108 students (62.8%), and fifty-five students (32%) had a positive family history. Overall, 50.5% (87/172) of ocular diseases were potentially treatable or preventable.

CONCLUSION

Retinal dystrophy and congenital glaucoma were the most common eye diseases. Heredity was the main etiology, and consanguinity was high. To decrease their incidence, awareness of the family members of the risks of consanguinous marriage and appropriate therapy for congenital glaucoma/cataract may significantly improve the child's visual prognosis.