Background/aims- The main cause of visual impairment are uncorrected refractive errors in school-going children1. The current study focuses on the effectiveness of school eye screening in correcting refractive errors.
Methods-A cross sectional study was conducted, including 507 school children were examined from June 2015 to June 2016. Preliminary examination was carried out at their respective schools and detailed ophthalmic examination was done in ophthalmology department of tertiary centre.
Results-The major cause of ocular morbidity was refractive errors (34%) in government schools. The overall prevalence of refractive errors was 14%, amblyopia and squint 2.9% each. Low vision (visual acuity < 6/18) in the better eye was observed in 504 (99.9%) children and blindness (visual acuity <6/60) in 3 (0.3%) children. Results suggested that 94% of children were with uncorrected refractive error.
Conclusions- Refractive error is an important cause of preventable blindness among government school children. A school eye screening with periodic evaluation seems to be appropriate in this region of North India.
Impact Factor
2022: 6.012
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