Surgical treatment of eyelid sequelae due to trachoma performed by a few São Paulo hospitals of the Brazilian Unified Health System.

PURPOSE: Trachoma is the major infectious cause of preventable blindness in the world, and its sequelae include the presence of cicatricial entropion and trachomatous trichiasis. Trachoma can be corrected by surgical treatment of the eyelids and, if left untreated, may result in corneal opacification, low vision, and blindness. There are limited data on trachomatous trichiasis in Brazil. This study was conducted to estimate the frequency of entropion and trichiasis surgeries of trachomatous origin based on the records of procedures performed in specialized hospitals that served the Unified Health System (SUS) in the years 2016 and 2017.

METHODS

This was a retrospective study conducted in the oculoplastic sectors of the ophthalmology services of the following three hospitals in the state of São Paulo: Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu (HC Botucatu), Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto da Universidade de São Paulo (HC Ribeirão Preto), and Hospital Estadual de Bauru (HE Bauru). Medical records corresponding to the codes of interest were evaluated.

RESULTS

In total, 462 medical records were evaluated, including 170 (36.8%) at HC Botucatu, 61 (13.2%) at HE Bauru, and 231 (50.0%) at HC Ribeirão Preto. There were 39 (8.4%) cases of trachomatous trichiasis, ranging from 9 (14.8%) at HE Bauru to 15 (6.5%) at HC Ribeirão Preto.

CONCLUSIONS

The frequency of surgery due to trachoma was low in these oculoplastic services. The state of São Paulo might have reached the goal for trachoma elimination in the surgical component. The questionnaire used for data collection was successfully tested despite some difficulties in collecting data from the medical records. Studies with the same methodology are recommended in other services in the areas of endemic trachoma in the past to understand the frequency of eye lid surgeries performed for treating trachomatous sequelae.