Prevalence of pseudoexfoliation syndrome in patients scheduled for cataract surgery in eye camps in Kashmir

Abstract

Aims: To study the prevalence of pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PEX) in patients scheduled for cataract surgery in eye camps in Kashmir. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective study conducted by the Mobile Ophthalmic Unit holding eye camps in rural areas of Kashmir from December 2010 to July 2011. Total of 1117 patients from 11 areas with age-related cataract scheduled for surgery underwent complete clinical examination. The PEX was diagnosed by the presence of gray flakes on the anterior lens capsule or at the pupillary margin or both. A Chi square test was used for statistical analysis. Results: The prevalence of PEX was 26.32%. The prevalence from the different areas varied from 4 to 36.36%. Males comprised 64.62% of the patients with PEX ranging in age from 49 years to 89 years. Increasing age was associated with increase in prevalence of PEX (P value < 0.001). Prevalence of PEX was higher in patients involved with outdoor activities (P value < 0.001). Most common type of cataract seen in patients with PEX was nuclear sclerosis. Patients with PEX had visual acuity (VA) significantly lower than patients without PEX (P value = 0.0013). Conclusion: The prevalence of PEX in Kashmir is relatively high. This is important from the perspective of mobile eye camps considering the increased frequency of cataract and the surgical complications associated with PEX, and thus the surgery mandates a thorough preoperative clinical examination to ensure good surgical outcome.

Keywords

• Cataract
• eyecamps
• prevalence
• pseudoexfoliation syndrome
• visual acuity