Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Blindness In Children At The Ida Rieu School For The Blind And Deaf, Sadia Javed Khan, Afshan Hassan, Laila Khalid, Uzma Karim, Erum Hashmi, Fariha Gul, Imtiaz Jehan

Community Health Sciences

Objective: To identify the causes of blindness at the Ida Rieu school for the blind and deaf, Karachi, Pakistan.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted at the Ida Rieu School for the blind and deaf. The data collected from medical record of students was entered into the WHO/PBL eye examination form for children with blindness and low vision.Results: Records of 144 pupils aged between 4-30 years were reviewed, including 67% males and 33% females. One third (31%) children had visual impairment (< 6/18-6/60) and 69% were blind (< 3/60-NPL). The commonest anatomical site was retina (41%) and whole globe (20%). The etiology was unknown in 49% cases. In 33% of cases, the data suggested hereditary cause as the etiology, 40% of cases were preventable and 13% treatable.CONCLUSION: Avoidable causes of blindness were seenin 53% of children, 58% of which were preventable and 19 were treatable.

Iatrogenic Insertion Of Impression Mould Into Middle Ear And Mastoid And Its Retrieval After 9 Years: A Case Report, Mohammad Sohail Awan, Moghira Iqbal, Zakariya Imam Sardar

Department of Surgery

Abstract

The magnitude of hearing loss in Pakistan is enormous. One in twelve children of Pakistan suffers from some form of hearing impairment. Many of them are unable to afford surgical procedures and resort to the use of cheap hearing aids fitted by untrained individuals or people lacking the required expertise. This predisposes the patients to significant complications during a process that is otherwise considered safe.We report the case of a child, where the process of making the mould for a hearing aid led to the perforation of the tympanic membrane and pouring of mould material into the middle ear, …