Muhammad Sultan, Muhammad Khalid Dogar, Zua.
Congenital ocular defects.
Professional Med J Jan ;10(3):239-43.

To find out the incidence of rubella in children with congenital ocular defects. Design of Study: Co relational, quantitative & prospective study. Settings: Department of Ophthalmology, Allied Hospital, Faisalabad in collaboration with Departments of Pediatrics & obstetrics. Period: June 1999 to July 2001. Materials & Methods: Total 100 children of five year or lesser age who presented or referred with some ocular problems of congenital origin were studied. The data was collected on special proforma. The relevant investigations were carried out and the correlation between rubella and ocular / systemic defects of congenital origin were studied. Results: The incidence of Congenital Rubella in children with congenital ocular defect was 16% while incidence of Rubella in various individual congenital ocular defect was Cataract 19.1%(13in 68), Glaucoma 11.5%(6 in 52), Retinopathy 42.3% (11 in 26), Microphthalmia 25% (4 in 16),Corneal Haze 11.3% (5 in 44), Microcornea 17.14% (6 in 35), Buphthalmos 8.82% (3 in 34), Corneal Scarring 10.52% (4 in 38), Squint 16.6% (4 in 24) and Keratoconus 100% (2 in 2). The associated systemic lesions in the patients of Congenital Rubella Syndrome included CNS lesions 28.75%, Cardiovascular abnormalities 25% and Biliary tract abnormalities 6.2% (one patient). Conclusion: The Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS), a preventable condition, presents with potentially blinding & visually handicapping problems and its incidence in children with congenital ocular defects in Pakistan is still very high i.e. 16% therefore responsible for a considerable visual morbidity in Pakistan whereas in most of developed countries, it has been trolled by rubella vaccination of mothers in routine.

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