Ocular infection in children: Epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic aspects at the Centre for the Application of the Diploma of Specialised Studies in Ophthalmology (CADES/O) of the Donka National Hospital

Abstract

Introduction: Ocular infections in children are a real public health problem, especially in underdeveloped countries.

The aim of our study was to investigate ocular infections in children at the Centre d'application du diplôme d'études spécialisées en Ophtalmologie (CADES/O) of the Donka National Hospital.

Material and methods: This was a prospective descriptive study lasting 6 months from 1 March 2021 to 31 August 2021.

All children of any age, sex or origin who were seen for eye infection and treated and whose parents agreed to complete the questionnaires during the study period were included in this study.

The study variables were quantitative and qualitative.

Results: The hospital incidence of childhood eye infections was 10% (n=421). The average age of our respondents was 8 ± 5 years (7 days and 17 years). There was a male predominance of 50.6% with a sex ratio (M/F) of 1. The reasons for consultation were dominated by pruritus and ocular redness, i.e. 64.4% and 48.0% respectively. 77.7% of ocular infections in our study were of bacterial origin, i.e. a total of 327. The medical treatment of ocular infections in children was mostly local antibiotics, i.e. 90.3%, and the surgical treatment was the subconjunctival injection of corticoids, i.e. 36.4%. The evolution remained favourable in 96% of cases.

Conclusion: Children's eye health is an important public health issue, which can have enormous consequences. A specific study on each of the eye infections would be necessary to better understand this phenomenon.