Association between Strabismus and refractive Errors among Preschool children in Fallujah, Iraq Abady Noor Hussain1,2,*, Al-Jumaili Ali Abduljabbar2,3, Fayyadh Rafea Allawi1,2 1Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, University of Fallujah, Iraq 2Department of Ophthalmology, Fallujah Teaching Hospital, Iraq 3Department of Optomery, Dijlah University College, Baghdad, Iraq *Corresponding Author: Dr. Noor Hussain Abady College of Medicine, University of Fallujah, Iraq, Mobile: 00964 (0) 7513581412, Email: nooran_hussain@yahoo.com
Online published on 4 June, 2019. Abstract Purpose To investigate the association between concomitant esotropia and exotropia and refractive error among preschool children under age of 6 years in the city of Fallujah in western Iraq. Method in this cross-sectional study, 253 strabismic patients participated. After obtaining informed written consents, children underwent full ophthalmic examination, with uncorrected and corrected visual acuity and cycloplegic refraction. Strabismus was defined as; inward deviation esotropia and outward deviation exotropia of 10 or more prism dioptres. Results Of these 253 cases, 14 were excluded because of poor cooperation, older age and missed information. Prevalence of esotropia and exotropia were 81.2% and 18.8% respectively. There was a higher prevalence of esotropia in boys and exotropia in female (p = 0.180). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed a significant relation between refractive error and strabismus (p = 0.268). The prevalence of amblyopia among strabismic cases was 57.3%. Conclusion This study found a strong association between refractive error and horizontal strabismus among the preschool children in Fallujah in west of Iraq. These results can help in setting a guideline on early correction of refractive errors to prevent strabismus and amblyopia development. Top Keywords Strabismus, Refractive errors, Amblyopia, Preschool children, Fallujah, Iraq. Top |