Ocular findings in patients attending the dermatology clinics at Kenyatta National Hospital

Abstract

Aim The aim of this study was to establish the magnitude and pattern of ocular conditions seen in patients attending the dermatology clinics at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH). Method This was a hospital based cross sectional study at KNH in Nairobi, Kenya. Patients were recruited from the hospital's paediatric and the adult dermatology clinic. The patient's dermatological diagnosis was obtained from the medical records. The patients were examined using standardized ocular examinations and results were recorded in questionnaires along with demographical data of each patient. The data collected were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 11.5. Results Two hundred and thirty-six patients participated in this study. The most common dermatological diagnosis was eczema, 86 patients (36.4%, p<O.OOOI). Psoriasis was present in 19 (8.1%, p=0.004) patients. Eighteen participants (7.6%, p<O.OOOI)had vitiligo. Pemphigus vulgaris was present in 13 (5.5%, p=0.101) patients, 11 (4.7%, p=0.044) patients had exfoliative erythroderma and photosensitive dermatitis was present in 9 (3.8%, p=0.081) patients. Three patients had Kaposi sarcoma. In one patient it involved the lids in both eyes. The other 2 patients had no ocular involvement. The main ocular complaint was itchiness. Conjunctivalpathologieswerethe mostcommon; 75 (46.9%)patientshad DES and 33 (20.6%)patientshad allergicconjunctivitis.Forty-eight (20.3%) patients had cataract. They were all adults with a mean age of 58.5 years and a median of60.0 years. Visual acuity was normal in 221 (93.6%) patients, 11 (4.7%) had visual impairment, 2 patients were blind. The prevalence of refractive error was 8.5%. Conclusion The most common skin condition was eczema (56.6% children, 26.9% adults). There seems to be a high rate of allergic conjunctivitis in children and DES in adults with eczema respectively. Recommendation There is a need further research to investigate in more detail the ocular complications of atopic dermatitis and to establish any correlation between treatment and severity of ocular findings.