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Exposure keratopathy in a mentally retarded adult population
Journal of the American Optometric Association
|October 1, 1993
Abstract
Background:
Mentally retarded patients are often found to have exposure corneal disease. No study could be found that documented the prevalence of this corneal disorder among these patients.
Methods:
A retrospective study was conducted on a population of 210 mentally retarded adults to determine the prevalence of clinically significant exposure keratopathy.
Results:
17.6 percent of this population was found to have this disorder mostly due to incomplete blinking.
Conclusions:
Exposure keratopathy was found to be a significant ocular health problem among this population. Since many of these people cannot verbalize their discomfort it is recommended that the optometrist tailor his or her examination so this disorder is not overlooked and untreated.