Abstract:
ABSTRACT There is little information about the epidemiology of congenital eye anomalies in Ghana. We
retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of 485 admissions to the paediatric eye centre of the Korle-Bu Teaching
Hospital, Ghana (2004–2009) and 263 were diagnosed with at least one anomaly. Visual acuity was quantitatively
assessed in 209 patients and 130 had some visual impairment; 49 with bilateral and 64 with unilateral blindness. The
most frequent congenital anomaly overall was cataract (n = 44). In infants, cataract was the most frequent finding
(28/121). Toddlers most frequently presented with retinoblastoma (10/65). Glaucoma was the most frequent anomaly
in preschool (9/39) and school (10/38) children. We conclude that avoidable causes of childhood blindness caused
most congenital eye anomalies. Intensification of community-based health promotion and preventive eye care,
early detection and provision of adequate resources for effective therapy could reverse these trends.
