Study of etiological profile of patients with paralytic strabismus in a tertiary care hospital in India: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction: Paralytic strabismus, a type of strabismus caused by paralysis of one or more extraocular muscles, can lead to a variety of ocular and psychosocial sequelae. Etiology varies in different types of paralytic strabismus. Numerous studies have shown that ocular motor cranial nerve palsies have a variety of causes including vascular disease, head trauma, intracranial tumour or aneurysm and inflammatory disorders.Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary eye hospital to evaluate Paralytic squint by Neuroimaging in patients presenting to the Squint department of Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital Hyderabad from June 2021 to May 2022. Paralytic strabismus cases with limitation of ocular motility were enrolled and a detailed examination was performed to know the etiology. Results: 190 patients (1.35%) were diagnosed with paralytic strabismus. Ischemia constituted to be the major cause of paralytic strabismus i.e. (42.1%) followed by trauma (20%). The 3rd cranial nerve was the most commonly involved (34.73%), followed by the 6th cranial nerve (32.63%). Multiple cranial nerves were involved in 20% of cases. The 3rd CN was involved, primarily due to ischemia in both males and females while the 6th CN was affected with trauma, neoplasm, and ischemia being prominent causes. Conclusion: The study showed that ischemia, trauma and idiopathy are some of the major etiologies of paralytic strabismus with male predominance. The cranial nerve involvement also varied with the etiology of paralytic strabismus.

Keywords

• paralytic strabismus
• cranial nerves
• strabismus
• squint
• paralysis
• extraocular muscles