Neonatal Eye Diseases and Associated Factors in Calabar, Nigeria

To assess the pattern of eye diseases among newborn infants in newborn units in Calabar, Nigeria.

This cross-sectional study of the eyes of newborns in 5 newborn units in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria was undertaken over a 10-week period extending from February 28, 2018 through May 9, 2018. Newborn whose parent gave informed consent were included, whereas those not consented for or too ill were excluded. The study was conducted with the help of a structured questionnaire and study protocol. Each newborn had basic ophthalmic examination. Ethical approval was obtained from the Health Research and Ethics Committee of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital and the Cross River State Ministry of Health. Categorical variables were compared using Chi-Square Test and Fishers's Exact Test (FET).

A total of 410 newborn were studied. The male: female ratio was 1:1.2 and the mean age was 7.02 days. The most common eye disease was sub-conjunctival haemorrhage 47(11.5%). This was followed by conjunctivitis 26 (6.3%), retinal haemorrhage 24(5.9%), congenital cataracts 8(2%) and clinical anophthalmia 2(0.5%). The least frequent findings were congenital glaucoma, congenital eyelid eversion, macular oedema, at 1 (0.2%) each respectively. Eye disease was associated with an abnormal antenatal period (11.218, p-0.001) birth weight (FET: 12.423, 0.007), and or eventful labour history (FET: 26.805, <0.001).

A significant proportion of eye disease in newborn is associated with an eventful perinatal period. Early detection of eye disease through instituted routine eye examinations may aid in preventing permanent disability from adverse sequelae, reducing the incidence of low vision or avoidable blindness.