I.O. George and S.A.H. Cookey
Sickle cell disease can damage blood vessels in the eye and cause scarring and detachment of the retina, which can lead to blindness. The purpose of the study is to determine the eye manifestations in Nigerian children with sickle cell anemia. Child ren (aged 6months to 16years) with sickle cell anaemia were examined for ocular abnormalities from 1 st January to 31st June 2010 at the Ophthalmology Clinic of the University of Port Harc ourt Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. Routine ophthalmic examination included measurement of visu al acuity, inspection of the adnexa and cornea, refraction, slit-lamp examination and dilated fundo scopy. 94 children examined, 64(68.1%) were males and 30 (31.9%) were females. Ocular abnormalities w ere found in 32 (34.0%) children. Conjunctival signs were present in 8(8.5%) of the children, reti nal vascular tortuosity in 13(13.8 %), arteriovenou s crossing in 1(1.1%), optic nerve pallor in 10(10.6% ) and glaucoma 1(1.1%). Ocular abnormalities are common. However, no evidence of proliferative retin opathy was found in this study which is in tandem with those previously published in Africa.
Share this article