Pattern and Management of Traumatic Cataract in Children Aged 0 to 15 years at the University Hospital of Abeche (CHU-A) and at the “Voir la Vie” Clinic

Abstract

Objective: This study was carried out to evaluate the postoperative visual outcome and management of traumatic cataract in children.

Methods: This was a retrospective and descriptive multicenter study conducted at the University Hospital of Abéché and the “Voir la Vie” Clinic. Children aged 0 to 15 years and operated for traumatic cataract were included in this study. The variables studied were epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic. The data collected were entered using Excel 2013 and analyzed by SPSS 18.0 software.

Results: The average age was 10.25 ±3.19 years. The age group 10 to 15 years was the most represented with 131 (66.8%), 5 to 9 years 55 (28.1%) and 0 to 4 years 10 (5.1%). The sex ratio M/F was 1:9. One hundred and fifty five (79.1%) of the patients came from rural areas. One hundred and fifty one (77%) of the main mechanism were bruises. One hundred and ten (56.1%) of the circumstances of occurrence were child’s play and 107 (54.6%) of the main traumatizing agent were vegetable bodies. One hundred and thirty two (67.3%) of preoperative visual acuity were less than 1/10 of cases. One hundred and seventeen (59.7%) of the most common type of anesthesia were locoregional of cases. 1Nineteen (8.7%) patients of the most common intraoperative complication were vitreous loss. At 30 days postop, 55.10% (n=108) of patients had distance visual acuity greater than or equal to 1/10.

Conclusion: Traumatic cataract in children is predominant in males. It is the main cause of unilateral blindness. Adequate management with the placement of implants in the posterior chamber gives better functional vision.