Tarique Salim, Kh Faiz-ur Rab, Shehla Dareshani.
Ocular Health Status of Employees in a Pharma Factory in Karachi. (A cross-sectional survey).
Ophthalmol Update Jan ;16(2):588-90.

Background: Occupational ocular health hazards are often under recognized, especially in the developing world. Workrelated eye problems faced by factory workers carry a significant economic and health burden. It is important to characterize the nature of these oculovisual problems in order to help public health policy. We aimed to assess the ocular health status of employees at a pharmaceutical factory in Karachi, Pakistan. Methods: A standard ocular examination was performed on 89 factory workers belonging to a Pharmaceutical Factory located in Korangi, Karachi. All clinical examinations were conducted on factory site by the principal investigator during February 2017. Results: Out of 89 workers, 13 (14.6%) were female and 75% (n=66) of workers belonged to Sterile Optical Inspection department, while 12% (n=11) and 13% (n=12) worked in Indoor and Outdoor Warehouses, respectively. Overall, 28.1% (n=25) employees were diagnosed with at least one eye problem. Refractive errors were the most frequent diagnosis (n=15; 16.9%), followed by cataract or cataract-like lenticular changes (n=4; 4.5%). Other ocular problems detected included redgreen color blindness, glaucoma and amblyopia. Conclusion: In conclusion we identified that a considerable proportion of workers in one pharmaceutical factory in Karachi, Pakistan, is suffering from ocular morbidity. This finding underscores the importance of regular eye check-ups for factory workers as well as strictly observing occupational health and safety protocols.

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