Refractive errors in children attending school in Bogotá

Defectos refractivos en una población infantil escolarizada en Bogotá DC

Objective: to describe the frequency and distribution of different types ofrefractive errors in a child population attending school in Bogotá DC. Metho,lology: cross-sectional study including children attending a school in Bogotá DC up to the second grade level, whose parents and guardians signed the informed consent. This assessment was delivered by ophthalmology residents and optometrists of Hospital de San José, aided by an auto refractometer in order to find the prevalen ce of refractive errors. Results: 109 boys/girls aged between 4 and 9 years were tested, most of them were aged between 6 and 7 years. The most common spherical refractive error found was astigmatism (15.1 %), followed by hypermetropia (13.8%) and myopia (2.3 % ). Amblyopia was suspected ( corrected visual acuity lower than 20/40) in 2 1.5% of the study population. 11 % presented strabismus with 9 cases of exotropia and 3 of endotropia. Conclusions: a high percentage of children with impaired visual acuity were identified. Very few of them had received a previous ophthalmologic or optometric assessment despite its obligatory status in the country. It is emphasized that governmental visual heath programs must be fulfilled in Bogotá DC and the rest of the country.

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