EC Ophthalmology

Objectives: To assess the intraocular pressure patterns of emmetropic children attending University of Port Harcourt teaching hospital Eye clinic.

Materials and Methods: The study was a hospital based observational cross-sectional study carried out among children aged 5 - 18 years attending University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital Eye clinic. All participants had cycloplegic refraction, intraocular pressure measurement using Pulsair tonometer, and a full ocular examination. Only Emmetropic children were included in the study.

Results: A total of 117 children with emmetropia were enrolled into the study, the age range was 5 - 18 years with mean age of 11.9 ± 3.2 years for emmetropes. Male: Female ratio was 1:1.1. Range of IOP was 7.3 - 21.8 mmHg. Mean IOP was 14.72 ± 3.1 mmHg and 15.02 ± 3.1mmHg for the right and left eyes respectively. 99.1% and 97.4% of the participants were found to have normal IOP of < 21 mmHg. The highest proportion of children with high IOP (> 21 mmHg) in both eyes were aged 15 - 18 years (6.3% - right eye and 9.5% - left eye).

Conclusion: The intraocular pressures of emmetropic children is usually within the normal range. IOP tends to increase with increasing age among children.

 Keywords: Intraocular Pressure; Emmetropic Children; Cycloplegic Refraction; Pulsair Tonometer

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