Congenital cataract etiology.
OBJECTIVE
Our purpose is to study the aetiologies of congenital cataracts, and to establish an approach to decision making of etiological diagnosis.


METHODS
We included 85 children in a cross sectional study. The mean age was 4.5 years. These patients underwent a complete ophthalmologic and paediatric examination, and etiological investigation.


RESULTS
An aetiology of congenital cataracts was found in 62.5% of cases. Hereditary was the most common cause, it constituted 42.3% of etiologies. Among these cases 77.7% were autosomal recessive. 16.4% of congenital cataracts were associated with general diseases or dysmorphology syndromes. Metabolic diseases and intrauterine infections were found in 7 % and 4.7% of cases respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Heredity remains the most common etiology of congenital cataracts.
El Fkih
L
L
Ophthalmology Service of Internal Security Forces Hospital, Marsa, Tunis.
Hmaied
W
W
El Hif
S
S
Moalla
S
S
Marakchi
S
S
Tabib
N
N
Azzouz
H
H
D000293:Adolescent; D002386:Cataract / Q000151:congenital* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D025063:Chromosome Disorders / Q000150:complications; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008659:Metabolic Diseases / Q000150:complications