Past Issues - Vol. 13 , No. 1, January - March 2017

Al-Shifa Journal of Ophthalmology

Editorial: Genetic Testing in Retinal Dystrophies; A Way of Future
Hassan Mansoor

Causes of Childhood Blindness in a Tertiary Care Eye Hospital
Shadab Hassan, Sorath Noorani Siddiqui, Naima Zaheer

This prospective study was conducted to analyze the causes of childhood blindness in a tertiary care eye hospital in which 205 children of age ≤15 years with vision <6/60 in both eyes were selected and causes of visual impairment were documented. Mean age was 7.96 ± 4.49 years. Based on the anatomical site, the leading causes of severe visual impairment and blindness were retinal diseases in 36.58%, followed by glaucoma in 23.41% and diseases of cornea in 16.58% children.

Comparison of Endothelial Cell Loss in Diabetics After Phacoemulsification and Extra-Capsular Cataract Extraction
Muhammad Usman Sadiq, Muhammad Irfan Sadiq, Sara Najeeb

This randomized clinical trial was conducted to compare the frequency of endothelial cell loss in diabetics after phacoemulsification and extra-capsular cataract extraction. Patients were allocated into two groups, based on the type of surgery advised. Specular microscopy was done in both groups and endothelial cell count was recorded in each case before and after surgery. This study revealed that there was a statistically significant difference in the corneal endothelial cell loss in diabetics after phacoemulsification and extracapsular cataract extraction.

Pattern of Placement of Doctors After Post-graduation in Ophthalmology
Saemah Nuzhat Zafar, Nadeem Zafar, Saqib Qayyum Ahmad

The purpose of this study was to analyze the pattern of placement of doctors in rural areas and smaller cities after completion of training at a tertiary care eye hospital. Information was gathered about current placement of the qualified ophthalmologists who had received training at Al-Shifa Trust Eye hospital Rawalpindi from 1995 to 2013. Update on information regarding the present practice location of 57 out of these 58 doctors was possible. Seventeen of 57 (29.82%) were working abroad, while 40 (70.17%) were serving within the country. Most (n=32, 56.14 %) of these ophthalmologists were doing their practice in bigger cities. Subspecialty training after fellowship was done by 18 (31.57%) doctors.

Frequency and Types of Refractive Errors in School-going Children in Mirpur, Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), in Age Group of 5-15 Years
Waseem Ahmed Khan, Ch.Tariq Masood, Muhammad Irfan Sadiq, Ovais Manzoom Kiani

This descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in Mirpur, AJK to determine the frequency, types and gender based distribution of refractive errors in school going children in the age group of 5-15 years. A total of 22926 children were examined, out of which 916(3.99%) children had refractive error, with uncorrected visual acuity of < 6/12 in both eyes. Out of 916 children, 406(44.32%) were myopic, 218 (23.79%) were hypermetropic and 277 (30.24%) had astigmatism while 15(1.63%) had amblyopia.

Ocular complications of severe vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) in patients presenting to a private clinic
Javed Rasul, Imran Ahmad

This retrospective non-comparative observational study was conducted in a private clinic to assess and document the ocular complications in patients of KPK with severe vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC). Out of 130 patients with VKC, 16.15% were having ocular complications. Ocular complications included punctate epithelial erosions (7.70%), kertoconus (3.07%), peripheral corneal vascularization (1.54%), steroid induced glaucoma (1.54%), steroid induced cataract (0.77%), shield ulcer (0.77%) and Pseudogerontoxon (0.77%).

Situation Analysis of Diabetic Retinopathy services in Muzaffarabad division of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan
Irfan Aslam Khattak, Muhammad Tariq Khan, Waqar-ud-Din Durrani, Omer Farooq, Islam Elbeih, Marcia Zondervan, Tayyab Afghani , Covadonga Buscaran

This study was planned to assess the current situation of DR services in Muzaffarabad division, Descriptive cross sectional survey was conducted in all the eye care centres (n = 8) of Muzaffarabad division. DR services were assessed in terms of human resources, infrastructure and service delivery. DR patients’ characteristics and referral pathway was also assessed. Muzaffarabad city was having all the facilities while other two districts (Neelum and Hattian) had none. There was no proper tertiary eye care facility. There were 9 ophthalmologists in total, only 4 of them having fellowship in ophthalmology. No vitreo-retina (VR) specialist was available.