Causes and management of red eye in pediatric ophthalmology

Knowledge, attitude, and practice about red eye among the general population visiting a tertiary care hospital in rural setting, Tamil Nadu, India

BACKGROUND

Red eye is a common symptom in patients visiting the ophthalmology outpatient department (OPD). However, not all with red eye are due to infection and some can be threatening to visual loss. This study aimed to explore the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) among the general public regarding red eye attending a tertiary care hospital, Tamil Nadu.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted after approval by the institutional ethics review board among 500 patients >18 years attending general OPD excluding ophthalmology in tertiary hospital and research institute, Tamil Nadu, from January 2022 to April 2022. After informed consent, a semi-structured questionnaire with details of KAP on red eye was used and analyzed with descriptive statistics and Chi-square test using SPSS version 16.

RESULTS

Among the 500 participants, one-third were >60 years, 58%-females. Only 15.6% had awareness on red eye, 12.6% were aware of serious side effects while <10% knew the complication of red eye such as visual loss can follow if left untreated. Among those aware, 63% reported infection as the most common cause, followed by injury and allergy. Source of awareness was from past experience in the majority of the patients, followed by mass media and doctors. Only 12.4% had a positive attitude while 14.2% had good practice of seeking medical attention. Harmful practices such as instilling breast milk and instilling over-counter drops were highly prevalent. The major determinants of awareness were younger age, literacy, and health education given by health personnel (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Awareness about red eye, attitude, and practice among the general population in rural settings in Tamil Nadu are still poor. The need of the hour is for health education on red eye and management to prevent morbidity and loss of vision in the community at all levels of health care.

Outcomes of a Short Course in Improving Eye Healthcare Knowledge and Skills Among Final-Year Medical Students

BACKGROUND

Globally, at least, more than 2 billion people are either blind or visually impaired, the majority of whom live in low-income settings. Visually impaired people experience limitations in their daily activities in addition to the negative psychological impact. Ophthalmology is not a major focus in medical curricula, including in Sudan. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a short course in improving eye healthcare knowledge and skills among final-year medical students in a public university in Khartoum State, Sudan.

METHODS

A mixed-methods interventional study was conducted among 25 final-year medical students in Sudan. A short ophthalmology course was designed and conducted aiming to strengthen the knowledge and ability of the medical students to deal with common eye disorders, eye emergencies, prevention of blindness, and promotion for eye health. Data were collected using a closed-ended questionnaire at the start and 1 month after completion of the course. The quantitative data were analyzed using Excel, and the Fisher exact test was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (version 21.0) to examine any association between variables of interest. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The quantitative data was supplemented by one focus group discussion that was conducted at the end of the course.

RESULTS

The average ophthalmology knowledge of participants improved from 52.6 to 86.6% (p < 0.001). Diagnostic skills improved from 57.3 to 93.6% (p < 0.001), and knowledge regarding the needed interventional actions improved from 58.6% to 94% (p < 0.001). Participants both enjoyed and learnt from this short course. Participants felt more confident and able to distinguish between simple, complicated, and urgent conditions. The majority of course content was new to them, but they suggested replacing some content with actual clinical work.

CONCLUSION

A well-designed short ophthalmology course significantly improves the levels of medical students' knowledge and skills towards eye health. Implementing such a course as a standard component in the national medical curriculum has the potential to contribute towards the reduction of blindness in the long term.

Epidemiology and symptoms of red eyes in patients from Northern Iran

Aim:

We aimed to determine the epidemiology and symptoms of red eyes in patients from Northern Iran.

Materials and Methods:

A descriptive study was planned involving 840 patients referred to the eye clinic of Bu-Ali Sina hospital in Sari, Iran, with the chief complaint of eye redness.

Results:

Of 840 patients, 525 were men (62.5%) and 315 were women (37.5%). Most of the patients were over 39 years of age. 55.7 percentage of them lived in cities and 44% were from villages. The most common eye symptoms with eye redness were: Eye abrasion (57%), tears in eyes (49%) and swollen eye lid (30%). Red eyes without any symptoms in eyes were diagnosed as runny nose (4.2%) and headaches (3.4%). 11.9% and 19.6% of the patients had a previous history of red eye and had visited doctors for red eyes respectively.

Conclusions:

Red eyes are more common in men than women. Introducing dangerous causes of red eyes in the future can help to health care professional to on time diagnosis of red eyes related problems.