DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2019.v07i02.063

Pages: 733-735

Purpose: To assess the pattern of refractive errors in children visiting to tertiary hospital in rural area of Punjab. Settings and Design: Single institutional, collaborative and retrospective study. Materials and Methods: Children of both genders aged 3 to 16 years attending the eye OPD after being referred from pediatric OPD of a tertiary care teaching hospital in rural area of malwa region, underwent visual acuity assessment, ocular motility evaluation and cover uncover test. Children with defective vision were further examined employing objective refraction using autorefractometer followed by streak retinoscopy after instilling 1% cyclopentolate eye drops. Children with any kind of refractive errors were evaluated and categorized according to the type of refractive error on post mydriatic examination. Results: The pattern of refractive error in children who were referred from the Department of Pediatrics was studied. There was no significant difference in the percentage of refractive error between males and females. The single most common refractive error was astigmatism followed by myopia and then hypermetropia. Conclusions: Refractive error is one of the leading causes of treatable blindness in school age children. Collaborative approach between the paediatricians and ophthalmologists could play a key role in the timely diagnosis and treatment of refractive errors in children to meet the challenges of treatable blindness.