title: Ocular morbidity among primary school children of Dhulikhel, Nepal.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Knowledge of disease pattern in children can help design preventive and curative strategies.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To study the pattern of ocular morbidity among the primary school children.
  
  
  METHODS
  All the children of randomly-selected five government primary schools of Dhulikhel were included in this study. A complete eye examination was done in all children including color vision, loupe examination, refraction and Schiotz tonometry. Funduscopy and automated perimetry were done in selected children.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 466 primary school children were included in the study, of which 466 children 47 (10.08 %) had ocular morbidity. Refractive error was the commonest type of ocular morbidity in 11 (2.36 %). Hypermetropia was the commonest type of refractive error (0.84 %) in contrast to myopia (0.64 %). Conjunctivitis was the second common type of ocular morbidity (1.71 %). Glaucoma suspects accounted for 1.28 %, xexophthalmia 1.07 %, blephatitis 0.85 %, amblyopia 0.43 %, color blindness 0.43 %, conjunctival nevus 0.43 %, glaucoma 0.43 %, and strabismus 0.43 %, while congenital abnormalities were less common.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Refractive error is the commonest form of ocular morbidity in primary school children.
authors.affiliation: Nepal Eye Hospital, Tripureshwor, Kathmandu. dakki_sherpa@yahoo.com
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sherpa
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Panta
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Joshi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000550:Amblyopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D001762:Blepharitis / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003117:Color Vision Defects / Q000453:epidemiology; D003230:Conjunctival Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D003231:Conjunctivitis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D006956:Hyperopia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009017:Morbidity; D009216:Myopia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009390:Nepal / Q000453:epidemiology; D009506:Nevus / Q000453:epidemiology; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*