Navaid Qureshi, Tahir Ahmed, Tabassum Ahmed.
Prevalence of ocular problems among school students of Karachi.
Pak J Surg Jan ;32(4):264-8.

Objective: To find out the magnitude of eye-problems among the school students of north Karachi. Study design: Prospective community-based study. Duration: Approximately 20,000 school-children of different age groups were screened for eye-problems from February, 2010 till May, 2011. Methodology: Snellens vision chart, school-wise children registration, pen-torch, mobile-van equipped with slit-lamp, auto-refractro-meter, direct ophthalmoscope, streak retinoscope, etc. Results: Out of a total of 19,606 beneficiaries as students, 3,305 students were found to have refractive errors standing at 16.85%. Blepharitis 5% being most commonly seen among eye lesions. Epidemics of acute adeno-viral conjunctivitis showed at 2.4% cases as red-eyes. Discussion: Refractive errors accounted for the majority of optical cases. Poor hygiene among students resulted in 5% of cases of Blepharitis. Conclusion: The most practical way was to use auto-refractometer for mass screenings and prescribe spectacles prescriptions for the needy school children.

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