An age-matched comparative study of ocular biometry parameters in cataractous and non-cataractous eyes of children in Ibadan, Nigeria

TL;DR

This study compared eye measurements in children with and without cataracts in Nigeria to understand typical biometric values and improve cataract management.

Contribution

The study provides age-matched ocular biometric data for cataractous and non-cataractous children's eyes in an African population.

Findings

Children with cataracts had significantly longer axial lengths compared to controls.

No significant differences were found in corneal thickness, keratometry, or intraocular pressure between the groups.

The findings suggest axial length is a distinguishing biometric parameter in cataractous eyes.

Abstract

This study compared the preoperative ocular biometric parameters of children who had cataract with age-matched healthy children to provide an understanding of a range of typical measurements in indigenous African eyes and aid management of childhood cataract.

Observational, cross-sectional, comparative study of two groups- cases and controls.

Child eye health tertiary health facility

Group A consisted of children aged 2 to 6 years with cataracts, and Group B of age-matched controls. Ocular biometry measurements including keratometry, axial length (AXL), pachymetry (central corneal thickness [CCT]) and tonometry were measured.

Thirty eyes of 24 children were studied in each group. Seventeen (70.8%) children had bilateral cataracts. The mean age of the cataract group (A) was 5.97±2.93 years, while that of the control group (B) was 6.33±2.89 years. The mean preoperative values for the ocular biometric parameters were: Group A AXL= 23.4(±1.4) mm versus Group B AXL= 22.7(±0.9) mm, p= 0.028; Group A CCT= 563.6(±59.7) µm versus Group B CCT= 551.0(±36.4) µm, p= 0.33; and Group A K = 43.4(±2.3) D versus Group B K = 42.5(±1.5) D, p= 0.08. Group A IOP was 13.7(±2.8) mmHg, while Group B IOP was 13.8 (±3.1) mmHg, p =0.93.

There was no statistically significant difference in ocular biometric parameters between children's eyes with and without cataracts except for the axial length.

None declared

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