Pattern of Eye Diseases among Commercial Intercity Vehicle Drivers in Nigeria

Objective: To determine the pattern of eye diseases among commercial intercity vehicle drivers (CIVDs) in Ilorin, Nigeria.Design: A cross-sectional descriptive study.Methodology: Out of the estimated 450 drivers operating inthe five major motor parks for CIVDs in Ilorin, 399 consecutive drivers participated in the study. Structured questionnaires were administered and ocular examinations were done.Results: The common ocular conditions seen were presbyopia(28.3%), allergic conjunctivitis (22.6%), pingueculae (18.0%), ocular hypertension (8.8%), pterygium (8.3%), cataract (7.8%), and uncorrected refractive error (6.0%). Visual impairment, based on legally required standard for commercial drivers in Nigeria, was found in 11.5% of theparticipants, while 3.3% of them had monocular blindness with a visual acuity (VA) of less than 3/60 in one eye. Cataract and glaucoma were the major causes of visual impairment.Conclusion: Ensuring that all prospective drivers undergo basic vision tests, followed by prompt referral of those with visual impairment to ophthalmologists could serve as a good case detection outlet. Blinding ocular conditions could be detected early and treated appropriately. This will ultimately prevent unnecessary loss of lives and property

Blindness Caused by Pterygium – A Case Report

Pterygium leading to bilateral blindness and forcing patient to quit job is uncommon. This is a case report of a 46 year old indigent woman who had blinding pterygia over 10 years. She could not afford pterygium excision offered in a private eye clinic where she initially presented after a period of unsuccessful self medication. She was forced out of sewing job consequent to her inability to thread needle, difficulty reading number on the tape rule and difficulty recognising faces of her clients. Six years later, she presented at eye clinic of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Nigeria with advanced bilateral pterygia. Having defaulted from clinic over 4 months for lack of fund, the patient, after concession, had successful bilateral pterygia excision using bare sclera technique with Mitomycin C (MMC) dab. There was restoration of the lost vision. Pterygium is a cause of avoidable blindness with consequential impact on quality of life. Eye care providers should identify individual patient challenges to reduce avoidable blindness. Keywords: Avoidable blindness, Patient challenges, Pterygium, Quality of lif

Minimising Corneal Scarring from the use of Harmful Traditional Eye Remedies in Developing Countries

Corneal scarring is the fourth largest cause of blindness globally, and a much more prominent factor in developing countries. Blindness from corneal scarring is largely a preventable phenomenon, and is capable of causing significant morbidity that can last for a lifetime. A significant proportion of these cases are caused by the use of harmful traditional eye medicines / remedies, and are used and  prescribed by friends, relatives and traditional healers, with widespread use especially in developing countries. Use of traditional remedies can also cause harm indirectly by causing delays before seeking medical treatment. Reducing corneal scarring from the use of harmful traditional medicine is through a combination of approaches with the key strategies being community diagnosis, education, participation, and intervention, with provision of basic eye care integrated into the primary health care of the community. Collaboration with traditional healers in the community is also another approach that has been found to be useful.Key words: Harmful traditional eye remedies, corneal scarring, avoidable blindness, traditional healers

Intervention strategies used in sport injury prevention studies: a systematic review identifying studies applying the Haddon matrix

Background: Prevention of sport injuries is crucial to maximise the health and societal benefits of a physically active lifestyle. To strengthen the translation and implementation of the available evidence base on effective preventive measures, a range of potentially relevant strategies should be considered. Objective: Our aim was to identify and categorise intervention strategies for the prevention of acute sport injuries evaluated in the scientific literature, applying the Haddon matrix, and identify potential knowledge gaps. Methods: Five electronic databases were searched (PubMed, EMBASE, SPORTDiscus, CINAHL, Cochrane) for studies that evaluated the effect of interventions on the occurrence of acute sport injuries. Studies were required to include a control group/condition, prospective data collection, and a quantitative injury outcome measure. Results: A total of 155 studies were included, mostly randomised controlled trials (43%). The majority of studies (55%) focussed on strategies requiring a behavioural change on the part of athletes. Studies predominantly evaluated the preventive effect of various training programmes targeted at the ‘pre-event’ phase (n\ua0=\ua073) and the use of equipment to avoid injury in the ‘event phase’ (n\ua0=\ua029). A limited number of studies evaluated the preventive effect of strategies geared at rules and regulations (n\ua0=\ua014), and contextual modifications (n\ua0=\ua018). Studies specifically aimed at preventing re-injuries were a minority (n\ua0=\ua08), and were mostly related to ankle sprains (n\ua0=\ua05). Conclusions: Valuable insight into the extent of the evidence base of sport injury prevention studies was obtained for 20 potential intervention strategies. This approach can be used to monitor potential gaps in the knowledge base on sport injury prevention