Case Finding and Management of Childhood Cataracts: The Role of a Child Eye Health Programme in Kaduna State, Nigeria

Objective: To evaluate the output of a child eye health programme in terms of identification, referral, and volume of paediatric cataract surgeries in Kaduna State, Nigeria.

Materials and methods: This was a retrospective review of the North-West Nigeria Child Eye Health Initiative programme referral registers at primary, secondary and tertiary hospitals in Kaduna State. Theatre registers of children 0-16 years who had cataract surgery at National Eye Centre Kaduna between 2016 and 2019 were also reviewed. Information on numbers of children, age, sex, laterality of cataract and programme status were summarised as frequencies, percentages and mean ± standard deviation. The initial 2 years of the programme (2018-2019) were compared with the 2 years (2016-2017) preceding them.

Results: Between January 2018 and December 2019; primary health workers screened 41,552 children and referred 2,316 (5.6%). Of those referred 1772 (76.5%) presented at one of three zonal secondary hospitals where nurses identified 492 (27.8%) with leukocoria using torchlights and referred them to the tertiary hospital. At the tertiary hospital, 364 (74.0% of 492) attended and 262 (72.0% of 364) were confirmed to have operable cataracts after dilated slit lamp examination by ophthalmologists. Between 2016 and 2017 (pre-programme years), 201 children had cataract surgery compared to 352 in 2018 and 2019 (programme years) of whom 239 (67.9% of 352) were beneficiaries of the programme. The proportion of girls who had cataract surgery declined from 39.8% to 35.0%, while mean age increased from 5.7 ± 4.2 years to 7.5 ± 4.1 over 4 years. More children with unilateral cataracts (214 [60.8%]) presented during the programme years (Fishers exact test, P = 0.004), whereas unilateral cataract (207 [60.2%]) was significantly more common in males than females (Fisher's exact P = 0.017).

Conclusion: The programme has resulted in improved case detection of childhood leukocoria at primary eye care level. additionally, the eye health referral system in Kaduna State has been strengthened with increasing numbers of children accessing services: majority boys, older children, and unilateral cataracts.