DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2016.v04i01.029

Pages: 172-174

Refractive errors are leading cause of visual impairment and preventable blindness in children. In addition, they can lead to failure in school going children. 0ur study was carried out to determine the prevalence of refractive errors in primary school children of Koulikoro (Mali). A total of 1047 children of 6 to 15 years old were screened. The schools were selected using simple random sampling method. All the children were previously examined in classrooms. Children with visual acuity less than 0.8 in at least one eye were referred to our office for a comprehensive ophthalmic examination. The following results were obtained: Among the 1047 children, 14 had refractive errors. Children of 10 years old accounted for 20.1%, whereas children of 15 years old accounted for 1%. Myopia predominated with 43.36%, followed by astigmatism (38.46%), and hyperopia accounted for 18.18%.